August 2023 Bookclub News

 

 Dear Bookclub,

Martha treated our gathered group to a lovely dinner at the Bernardo Winery as she hosted our meeting to discuss Gabrielle Zevin's "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow". Her preparation to promote conversation about Zevin's novel proved very effective:

Simulation of Martha's papers

We chatted and nibbled, and chatted and nibbled, and chatted and nibbled our way through the evening, truly answering every reader's guide question posed, and aspects beyond. Details abound in the telling of Zevin's tale, which uniquely introduced the world of the 80's and 90's in a light that our group, being in the fog of motherhood during that time, only viewed tangentially. Sure, we knew Super Mario and magic eye puzzles (https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/the-hidden-history-of-magic-eye-the-optical-illusion-that-briefly-took-over-the-world/), but the pretentious lives of the developers of video gaming were totally off the radar. Debating choices made by Sam, Sadie and Max, we softened to their situations and dilemmas.

This novel's critical acclaim, clearly needed a mention in our discussion, as the Gen X-surround kept our ability to relate at bay. Good literature transcends generations. Had we reached a point in our stage of life where we were <gasp> over-the-hill with the trendy? Zevin's work educated and entertained but the journey, tedious at times and over-written with the era, ultimately left little hope for a moving, lasting impression. 

I noticed that the "Goodreads Choice Awards 2022" honored "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" with the #1 position in Fiction AND "Lessons in Chemistry" as #2 in Historical Fiction. Historical???? We will continue to read all (with our corrective lenses) and be better for it.

 

Martha's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"The Music Shop" Rachel Joyce *chosen

"Lessons in Chemistry" Bonnie Garmus

"The Night Watchman" Louise Erdrich

Up next:

Happy reading,

LK

 

July 2023 Bookclub News

 

 

 

Dear Bookclub,

The balmy Bernardo Winery impressed and coddled our gathered group; the perfect setting for an early evening of dinner, wine and discussion. We loved it and planned to repeat the event in August. 

Our talking 'stick', Marcellus, was magnetic, drawing stares and inquiries from neighboring diners and encouraging sharing from our thoughtful readers. Shelby Van Pelt's "Remarkably Bright Creatures" cleverly clung to our hearts with the highly developed characters ensconced in a modern fairy tale. 

Themes of loneliness, 'family' and types of intelligence sparked appreciation of the author's intentions and broadened our scope of empathy to man and creatures, alike. Our bonding widened with bright personal sharing; the photos depict our depth.

Please enjoy these amazing octopus videos....just keep clicking and watching.. you will not be disappointed!

https://wgntv.com/news/trending/the-story-behind-the-octopus-escape-at-the-seattle-aquarium/

My suggestions for an upcoming read: 

"Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy" Carl Sferrazza Anthony *chosen

"The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating" Elisabeth Tova Bailey

"Writers & Lovers" Lily King

 

 

Up next:

 

Happy reading,

LK

June 2023 Bookclub News

 

An evening at Diane's Sweet Spot West

 

 

Dear Bookclub,

Diane's Adorno Place easily transformed into a sports bar and we easily dove into the charade, imbibing her authentic bar bites, delicious wine and finely crafted cocktails. Discussion of the Amy Poeppel's Sweet Spot skipped along lightly, keeping to the cadence the book invited. We all enjoyed, agreeing it was a good summer read, excusing spots of ridiculousness and keeping tight to the spots of sweetness. Melinda's mean-spirited personality and the dumping of Felicity's baby can be easily overlooked with the clever images of Lauren's artwork, Leo's parenting style, Evelyn's transformation and laugh-out-loud descriptions of antics and dialogue. Diane wowed us with one of her clever high-tech shares, and we enjoyed a unison viewing of Amy Poeppel's awesome trailer for the book:

https://www.amypoeppel.com/the-sweet-spot

 

 

 

Our little group was delighted to have Laura H. join us and she graciously shared her 'happenings' as she and Lynne stopped by after an outing to Chuck E. Cheese. North County bar-hopping at its finest!

 

Diane's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Baurer" Ann-Marie O'Conner

"Grant and Twain: The Story of an American Friendship" Mark Perry *chosen

"The Heart's Invisible Furies" John Boyne

 

Up next:

Happy reading,

LK

 

May 2023 Bookclub News

 

 

Phil Connors

Dear Bookclub,

Reminiscent of Bill Murray's Groundhog Day experience, bookclubbers met yet again at Julie's. My gratitude abounds to Julie for taking over my hosting as last minute changes necessitated. Discussing Maggie O'Farrell's "The Marraige Portrait" was a breeze, Julie reported, as everyone had read the book or at least part, and her printed questions were never used.

Julie's scoreboard

 

The New York Times reviewed O'Farrell's book with quite the dagger. I'd enjoyed the book very much, being immensely entertained by the audible version. The review surprised me; the reviewer must not have been in the mood. Calling it 'ridiculous', I can only imagine there must have been an expectation for much more. My preferred method to read with as little outside influence as possible afforded me a pleasurable experience. Opinions!

https://www.nyti.es.com/2022/09/05/books/review/maggie-ofarrell-marriage-portrait.html

My suggestions for an upcoming read:

"The Missing" Tim Gautreaux

"Marmee and Louisa" Eve LaPlante 

"Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" Gabrielle Zevin *chosen

Up next:

Happy reading,

LK

 

April 2023 Bookclub News

 

Julie's List

 

Dear Bookclub,

Unable to attend our discussion of Taylor Jenkins Reid's  "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo", Julie has kindly reported on the evening:

 

 

“Our fearsome foursome had fun discussing The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, while dining on bbq chicken salads and berry pie, at Julie’s on 4/20/2023.  The book was thought to be fair to middling’ and did not engage us or get us thinking about it after reading. 

 

Still, we talked about our favorite husband of Evelyn (Harry, because they were friends) and the theme “Hiding the Truth as Means of Survival” in relation to the relationships of Evelyn and Celia, and Harry and his partner(s).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karen had provided a UT article about the author, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and we were surprised that “Seven Husbands” was written in 2017, well before "Malibu Rising" and "Daisy Jones and the Six" (both on best sellers’ lists.  The article indicated that both Taylor and her husband were surprised that Tik Tok had started a buzz about “Seven Husbands” that drove IT up the charts!  Taylor is interested in getting more of her books into films or series such as Daisy Jones and… Coming soon… “Seven Husbands”!  Question for YOU dear reader… Who do you think will be cast to play Evelyn and Cecilia St. James?

Lastly, we voted (and counted emailed votes) on the upcoming selection.

Please enjoy the full article mentioned above:

 

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/nation-world/story/2023-02-28/taylor-jenkins-reid-writes-her-own-hollywood-success-story

 

 

Julie's suggestions for an upcoming read:

 

"Someone Else’s Shoes" Jo Jo Moyes

 

"Hello Beautiful"  Ann Napolitano

 

"Remarkably Bright Creatures"  Shelby Van Pelt *chosen

 

Up next:

 

Happy reading,

LK

 

 

March 2023 Bookclub News

 

Nothing Mad; only Merry

Dear Bookclub,

"Mad Honey" drew our readers in with a compelling, smooth-as-honey Picoult-style tale and suddenly, the attraction turned wild as page-turning accelerated into madness. Unable to hold back discussion, our group buzzed throughout the entire evening. Sue, not yet having finished the book, graciously agreed to our request to reveal the mystery so that we could freely drone on. Jodi Picoult and Finne Boylan's  collaboration inspired an intense, animated discussion, enjoyed amid a beehive of activity at Lori's kitchen counters. We turned over and over our experiences reading the book and unraveling the intricacies presented. 

Best read without any prior knowledge or research, I was shocked that I hadn't a clue about the book. I'd dismissed the duo of authors as being yet another of the trending, seemingly marketing-related collaborative creations and having no idea of Finne Boylan, I was primed for the roller coaster. Ultimately, there is nothing trite about the book and the authors' notes at the end, along with statements by both Picoult and Boylan online, describe a deep and unique collaboration. With mutual respect, the authors created a well-developed tale using rich characters, relatable emotions and timely debate, all the while educating the readers. 

Back to the kitchen! A honey-laden cheese board provided the backdrop to a very enticing "Bee's knees" cocktail (recipe at the end of book), expertly crafted by Lori. Also expertly crafted, Lori had paper strips for each member: fascinating bee-fact on one side and discussion question on the other. We truly appreciated Lori, our queen bee of the evening!

Mad honey is a hallucinogenic honey from the mountains of Nepal, where bees feed on a specific species of rhododendrons.  I promise the video embedded in this article will be the BEST 20 minutes you spend on any media today!!! Big screen option and prepare to be amazed by the gorgeous surroundings and the cultural aspects.

https://bigthink.com/health/mad-honey/ 

 

If you are so inclined, the medicinal real deal is available from Nepal, the fancy option with your name carved on the box:

https://bestmadhoney.com/

 

Lori's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" Alfred Lansing

"The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise"  Colleen Oakley

"The Sweet Spot" Amy Poepell *chosen

Up Next:

 

Happy reading,

LK

February 2023 Bookclub News

 

Dear Bookclub,

Eschewing the memoir's setting, February's discussion of Javier Zamora's "Solito" enveloped our members in Kim's delightful environs. She reports:

 "We had 6 at Bookclub on Thursday to discuss Solito. We had a lively discussion on immigration, discrimination and about the book in general. Everyone seemed to enjoy the book particularly as it was delivered through young Javier’s voice. We actually spent the majority of the evening in discussion! That tends to happen with small number of attendees.  We had Mexican buffet and margaritas to follow with the Latin theme."

Javier Zamora in El Salvador, not long before he began the arduous migratory journey he recalls in “Solito.”

(Javier Zamora)*

Zamora's recounting of his childhood journey from El Salvador to Arizona at the age of 9, contrasts heavily to the coming-of-age stories found in our bookclub's reading history. I was intrigued by his detailed recollections and perhaps a bit skeptical. How could he recount such detail? Therapy. Working to overcome the shame and confusion, Zamora told of his techniques in an interview with the L.A. Times:

"Dreaming, therapy, Reiki would give me an image, a detail or a sentence or name. I would try to capture it by writing about it. That was one day, one paragraph. A typical day, I would have therapy in the morning, then I would try to write because it would unlock a memory.

I was also reading “The Body Keeps the Score,” and that made me honor all the aches that writing this book caused me. I would wake up and the left side of my body would ache. There’s a section in the book where my left arm hurts, and I don’t know why, and in the next paragraph, I realize that Chino [one of the immigrants he met] has been pulling my left hand the entire time. To this day, when I’m stressed, the left side of my body is always where the knots begin."

For more of this interview, please enjoy:

*https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2022-09-15/javier-zamora-on-his-harrowing-journey-from-el-salvador-to-the-u-s-at-age

 Zamora, poet, activist, reads the audible version of "Solita". Upon first reading my hardcover copy, the peppering of Spanish, the  ¿'s, the Latin ambience charmed.  Switching to audible as I chopped vegetables, I was star-struck. It was him. The little boy is now speaking. After quite a bit, the awe subsided and a mild annoyance at the cadence set in. The halting language and clipped sentences bobbed like the boat described. A thought popped into my head that this was the reading of a poet, pausing with the very intentional style, emphasizing well-chosen words. I was calmed with the concept although I don't know if this observation is true.. just my idea.

 

 

https://poets.org/poem/let-me-try-again

 

Kim's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"Foster" Claire Keegan

"The Circus Train" Amita Parikh

"The Marraige Portrait" Maggie O'Farrell *chosen

 

Up next:

 

 Happy reading,

LK