August 2019 Recap

Glowing at Lori's

Dear Bookclub,
Treating us to delicious Asian dishes, Lori challenged us with chopsticks, and along with forks, we  scooped up and enjoyed. Less appealing to Lori (see below), authentic Korean fare was also eagerly sampled.

Plunging into our discussion of Lisa See's "The Island of Sea Women", we quickly moved from topic to topic just as the author had bounced from decade to decade touching upon the many layers built and revealed. Marveling at the Jeju setting and the world of the matrifocal, haenyeo society, the underlying dark tone of the tragic history overshadowed the intense story of a friendship, as was implied in the promising descriptions of the novel. The question of the importance to include the difficult-to-read details arose as that inclusion overshadowed the reader's appreciation of the complicated aspects of friendship, that is the core of the story. Another point made was that perhaps the author was overly ambitious in trying to create too much: an historic novel and a history text. In truth, most readers, this one included, probably knew nothing of this history and despite the weighty aspect the ambitious undertaking created in the book, the knowledge gained at the end result is valued.

Lori's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell" Robert Dugoni

"Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" Gail Honeyman *chosen

"The One in a Million Boy" Monica Wood


Up next:
 







Happy reading!
LK

August 2019 Bookclub News

Photos from Julie taken in Jeju during her April 2019 visit

Dear Bookclub,

Lisa See's historical novel, "The Island of Sea Women", set on the Korean island of Jeju, is the story of two women, their friendship and the haenyeo society. These fascinating female divers have been  harvesting marine life, without the aid of breathing apparatus, since the 17th century.  Please check out the links below to learn more. The videos are especially informative:

https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/culture-of-jeju-haenyeo-women-divers-01068

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTBMNRhaFH4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk7DQLMKBTE



Lori's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell" Robert Dugoni
(Goodreads 4.35/30,305 reviews)

"Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" Gail Honeyman
(Goodreads 4.31/424,173 reviews)

"The One in a Million Boy" Monica Wood
(Goodreads 4.00/23,972 reviews)
 

Looking forward to diving into our August discussion.

Happy reading,
LK

June/July 2019 Bookclub Recaps

Dear Bookclub,
Summer dreaming..... no! It's real! We've had two interesting books, two months in a row with two robust turnouts and last but not least.....two great discussions!

June - Julie's:

Julie brilliantly enhanced our evening with a set of questions. After indulging at the dining room table, we settled into the living room to delve into our discussion, each clutching our gifted question. Able to examine Luis Alberto Urrea's "House of Broken Angels" with gusto, thanks to the prompting questions, we all thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the discussion.

Julie's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher" Timothy Egan
"The Alice Network" Kate Quinn
"The Library Book" Susan Orlean
"The Island of Sea Women" Lisa See *chosen

July - Sue's:

Again being indulged, this time by Sue, we gathered around her beautifully appointed table, thankfully not themed to our book!  Karin Slaughter's "Pieces of Her" incited much debate with its layers and layers of .... well... unbelievable plot, gruesome detail and unrelatable characters....yet we agreed it was a compulsive read that we had fun examining. Netflix, here it comes.

Sue's suggestions for a future bookclub read:

"City of Girls" Elizabeth Gilbert *chosen
"Summer of '69" Elin Hilenbrand
"Varina" Charles Fazier
"The Flight Girls" Noelle Salazar

Up next: Lisa See's "The Island of Sea Women: A Novel"

 

Happy reading,

LK

March 2019 recreate Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,

Experiencing a cyber catastrophe in the midst of writing a new blog post in preparation for our upcoming bookclub meeting, I was blindsided with the accidental deletion of a previous post....this March 2019 post. A convoluted 'entry' page for any of my "Blogger" blogs has always had the vulnerability to make such a deletion. I was soooooo bummed and really, really bummed because it was late at night and I had promised my 'health sub-conscious' that I would long be asleep at this time. I stubbornly attempted every googled suggestion for this problem and sat in front of my screen with crossed fingers, spiritual pleas spoken aloud, learning more about caches and backing up than I care to ponder and finally went to bed in a tizzy.

I awoke the next morning, still blue with the loss and got struck with the realization that I could recreate. Would not be the same but here it goes:

Our March Bookclub meeting was cancelled due to the exciting, unrelenting, crammed, conflicted schedules we are all experiencing. The March selection, J.D. Salinger's"Catcher in the Rye" must still be discussed and with a Joyce Maynard elaboration.

First published in 1998, Maynard told of her relationship with Salinger in "At Home in the World".

An essay and front page picture for The New York Times Magazine in the spring of 1971, titled "An 18-Year-Old Looks Back on Life", put Maynard on the map and into the scope of J.D. Salinger who contacted her and whisked her away from Yale, briefly enfolding her into his lair.

Ꭶ

At this point in writing, months have passed since both the March non-meeting and my start to re-create the lost blog. My memory of whatever else was so great that I mourned its deletion has also been deleted. So I will leave you with: 

"And to think we started as a book group"

Happy reminiscing,
LK

May/June 2019 Bookclub News

"I don't like flowers", said no one.

Dear Bookclub,
A contrast to our last rollicking, well-attended bookclub meeting at Diane's, Barb and I met at Avant for a peaceful dinner. We did miss all of you. After thoroughly examining the current read - the menu not Daniel Pink's book - we had no problem at all chatting for a few hours. I can only have an imaginary discussion in my head about Pink's "When", but I hope to share in a real discourse with any of you next gathering.

Also, lost in the fray was a choosing of an upcoming read. With Barb's blessing, I proposed two suggestions from a recent Weekend Edition Sunday NPR spot, and via e-vote we have a selection:

https://www.npr.org/2019/05/26/727107493/what-to-read-this-summer

"Pieces of Her"  Karin Slaughter*
"Murder by the Book" Claire Harman

*chosen


Up next,  Luis Alberto Urrea's "The House of Broken Angels".

Julie has three suggestions for an upcoming read:

"Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher" Timothy Egan
"The Alice Network" Kate Quinn
"The Library Book" Susan Orlean

Please research and be prepared to vote at the June meeting.


Happy reading!
LK

April 2019 Bookclub Recap

Diane's amazing carrot cake with ginger mascarpone frosting

Dear Bookclub,
An evening at Diane's promises pampering and the unexpected. Liane Moriarty's Tranquillum House did the same to nine perfect strangers in "Nine Perfect Strangers". Unless any other attendees experienced wild dreams that night, I believe the micro dosing was not included in our evening.

Discussion was animated or as Lynne's Aunt Annette observed, "everyone is talking at once and no one is listening!" Braving our large and imposing group, both Lynne's mother, Margaret, and her sister, Annette, were a charming addition to the meeting. Most had read the book, some yet to finish, so skillfully trying not to reveal any surprises, general deliberation about unethical treatment and outcomes of certain characters' experiences proved interesting. Hearing some sentiment that the book was hard to read because of the topic, I wondered if I had read the same book. Delighted by the hilarious characterizations created by Moriarty, I thought the book funny and now wondered if I was insensitive to the central issues. Having 'read' the book sometime ago, I'd decided to re-listen to my audible version as a refresher. Only being a couple of hours into the re-listen at the time of our meeting, I was motivated to finish it for a second time to see if I could empathize with the opposing views.

Perceptions are based on experiences, attitudes, preconceived notions, and individual differences. Being prepared to be entertained by a book and then having it strike a nerve with any difficult situation that stirs up painful emotions is certainly distressing. Out the window goes any satire. Tuning into this scenario with my second go-around of "Nine Perfect Strangers", illuminated the many situations that may be too close to home for some to be lightly dismissed. Quoting the much referenced Wikipedia, re: "satire":

"Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society. "

Barely scratching the surface of the wider issues included in Moriarty's book, the opportunity to delve into such issues was lost. Fair enough, that cake was awaiting us!

Not regretting any of the fourteen more hours spent listening to "Nine Perfect Strangers" while attacking endless household chores, I will long remember all the trials and tribulations experienced by the characters while marveling at Liane Moriarty's creative genius.

Diane's suggestions for an upcoming read:
"A Place for Us" Fatima Farheen Mirza
"Women in Sunlight" Frances Mayes
"House of Broken Angels"Luis Alberto Urrea*
 *chosen

Up next, Daniel H. Pink's "When, The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing".

Happy Reading!
LK

April 2019 Bookclub News

Moriarty

Dear Bookclub,
 Who is Liane Moriarity?  Author of "What Alice Forgot", "The Husband's Secret", "Big Little Lies", and "Nine Perfect Strangers", along with several other novels, Moriarty has a distinct style that is most enjoyable for her massive following. And it is difficult to share about her books with any detail for you would ruin the experience for the reader, as revelation is the name of the game.

 From Wikipedia:

"Moriarty was raised in the north-west suburbs of Sydney. She has four sisters and one brother.....

....This trilogy retains some familiar features of Moriarty's style, such as a loosely epistolary form (the use of alternating chapters in which characters speak in their own quite distinctive voices); a sneaky sense of humor; and a plot that keeps the reader off balance by constantly subverting the 'facts' that one thought one understood. But it also marks a departure in the direction of fantasy: the premise of the trilogy is, or at least appears to be, the existence of an almost fairyland-like parallel world, sealed off from our world but in connection with it via 'cracks,' through which letters, or even people, can travel. As usual with Moriarty, nothing is quite what it seems, and incidents and ideas that appeared incidental may turn out to be central. All three of the books in the trilogy have been released."


"Nine Perfect Strangers" smacks with the writing style as described above. Changing viewpoints and 'voices', by alternating chapters with different characters' perspectives keeps us, as the readers entertained, off-balance, as mentioned above, and certainly turning the pages. But, the Moriarty shown above and described above is not Liane, it is her sister, Jaclyn!

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


http://jaclynmoriarty.com/

Moriarty

Liane, is the older sister of Jaclyn, with two more sisters and a brother. One of the other sisters, Nicola, is also a novelist. What an interesting family! Liane read like a fiend as a child to the point where her friends would hide their books if she came over to play because all she did was read their books. She had a career in advertising and marketing, eventually becoming a freelance advertising copywriter, writing everything from websites and television commercials to the backs of cereal boxes. Never considering that real people wrote novels, she was shocked when she learned her younger sister, Jaclyn, was about to publish what would become a brilliant award-winning novel ("Feeling Sorry for Celia"). Sibling rivalry spirited Liane to write a children's book which was then enthusiastically rejected by every publisher in Australia. With a more calculated path, Liane got a Masters degree from Macquarie University in Sydney, where she wrote what would become her first published work, "Three Wishes".  The rest is history!

Liane and Jaclyn

Liane's first novel
 

Diane's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"A Place for Us" Fatima Farheen Mirza
"Women in Sunlight" Frances Mayes
"House of Broken Angels"Luis Alberto Urrea


Looking forward to letting loose with our discussion! See you then....
Happy reading,
LK