October 2014 Bookclub Recap

Dear Bookclub,
I was so disappointed to miss last week's meeting at Karen's. I knew she'd put on a beautiful gathering - I still have her last year's October meeting in my memory bank of charming evenings. It's all those pumpkins!




In the spirit of literary letters, I thought I'd share verbatim Karen's response to my request for a report on the evening. Emails are the new quill and pen- so here it is in the original format:

Hi Lynn-

Sorry it has taken awhile for me to send this but it was a busy weekend! We had a great turn out for Book Club and a very lively discussion (even if most of it was not regarding the book).

We all enjoyed the book as it was a heartwarming break from some of our more gruesome reads of late.  What  a wonderful book to theme with food too! We had all things Irish. I served homemade Baked Potato Soup, pumpkin bread, Reuben spread on rye & caraway crackers, and Irish almond cake with Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey in it! I have included a couple of pictures for the Blog too.

The books suggested were:

Factory Man by Beth Macy

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr  (revisited)

After voting and discussion we chose All the Light We Cannot See. It had been suggested earlier but we felt it was worth revisiting.

We missed you and I hope your migraine is gone. If it is any solace, I have been getting less frequent migraines of late.

We also discussed the Christmas party. We will have a cash bar at the gathering and appetizers will be served. We will figure out a dollar amount per person as to the cost by next meeting.

Hope to see you soon!

Karen


And just to add to our literary weight, this will be a collection of letters. My request for information yielded this nice note from Julie:

Karen beautifully connected the evening from "book to table" with an Irish theme that dazzled all.  From her potato soup to a delicious Irish pound cake, we enjoyed it all sprinkled with conversation tidbits about the lovely story.

Karen briefed us on the holiday party (Karen has those details, Lynnie) and we selected a book (Karen has the winner... not sure... I Voted for The Interestings by Meg W. (again see Karen).

It was a fun night catching up in the glow of carved pumpkins!  A  great turnout of 9, I think, was well accommodated by Karen's comfortable seating area.

js



Thank you so very much Karen and Julie!

Finally, a collection of Whiskeys: 

Happy Reading!
LK

October 2014 Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
Just to finish a few items about our last meeting; an explanation about the "Lyn(n)(e)"'s is due, as well as the list of books considered for our next selection. For those of you not present at Lynn T's last month, you did not get to meet Diane's old friend, Lyn, from Chicago. Visiting San Diego for a conference, to see Diane and of course, to attend our meeting, Lyn was absolutely delightful and a fun addition into the Lyn(n)(e) lineup of the night.

Considered for February:

"One Plus One"  JoJo Moyes *chosen
"The Dovekeepers" Alice Hoffman
"I am Hutterite: The Fascinating True Story of a Young Woman's
                               Journey to Reclaim Her Heritage" Mary-Ann Kirby


Next up:

Patrick Taylor

From Taylor's website (www.patricktaylor.ca): Born in 1941, Taylor was brought up in Bangor, Northern Ireland, and received his medical education in Ulster. He initially practiced in a rural Ulster village akin to Ballybucklebo before taking specialist training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. After living in Belfast through the first two years of the recent Irish Troubles (1969-1994) he and his family emigrated to Canada where he pursued a career in medical research and teaching in the field of human infertility. His contributions have been honoured with three lifetime achievement awards including the Lifetime Award of Excellence of the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society.

for more:http://www.patricktaylor.ca/ptaylor_bio.html

I think you will find Taylor's book wee buns to enjoy and have it read in a doodle. Apologies to the Ulster-Scots if this sounds glipe.

Please RSVP to Karen for our October 16th meeting. 

Read on!

LK

September 2014 Recap

Dear Bookclub,
We needed no beacon to gather at Lynn T's last Thursday but perhaps the lights should have darkened to kick us out! "The Light Between Oceans" provoked much thought and discussion about the compelling situation of a baby 'found'. We did not let the long debate deter from all other necessary discussion so we just settled in for  - oh - four hours. Jim is such a good sport. Thank you Lynn (& Jim)!

The Lyn(n)(e) Project

We wondered if lighthouses were still in use with GPS and other modern advancements. Yes they are!

"New" Point Loma Lighthouse

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Point_Loma_Lighthouse

"Old" Point Loma Lighthouse

Interesting aside; story below about a man restoring the old Graves Island Lighthouse for his family vacation hang-out in the Boston Harbor:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/09/15/one-year-after-its-auction-boston-harbor-graves-island-light-station-getting-eye-catching-makeover/prMFDbj5fRtOOa0m3bgDYN/story.html


Next up:

Happy Reading!
LK

September 2014 Bookclub

Dear Bookclub,
An evening at Julie's for our August gathering is a sweet summer memory by now. Harlan Coben's "Missing You" provided the background for a stimulating conversation punctuated by Julie's roving taste treats. Moving from patio seating to patio dining to formal dining room, we feasted along the way, discussing the cyber thriller. Julie 'axed' us to 'unearth' all the subplots:

Suggested selections for January by Julie:
"Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
"The Language of Flowers" by Vanessa Diffenbaugh      *chosen

 ♫  "It's that time of year....♫ daaaa dum de dum ♪" ........

Karen and Kate, our holiday committee are pleased to announce that our holiday party will be on Saturday December 13 at 7 PM (that's 12/13/14!) at the Country Club of Rancho Bernardo in the Fireside Room. We will have a cash bar and appetizers. Specifics are still being formulated but it is official. Please mark your calendars! Our book selection will be the absolutely fantastic "The Boys in the Boat" by Daniel James Brown".  Thank you K & K!


Coming up: Our September meeting is on the 18th at Lynn T.'s! Please RSVP to Lynn.

 M.L. Stedman's "The Light Between Oceans" has been on the New York Times bestseller list for weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks and is soon to be a major motion picture from Spielberg’s Dreamworks. Gregory Coles from the New York Times, 'Inside the List' (August 10 2012), states:

DARKNESS AND LIGHT: Some writers crave publicity, while the very hint of it makes others curl into a defensive ball like hedgehogs or pill bugs. M. L. Stedman — whose new novel, “The Light Between Oceans,” enters the hardcover fiction list at No. 7 — is a hedgehog. The book carries no author photograph, and only a brusque biography: “M. L. Stedman was born and raised in Western Australia and now lives in London. ‘The Light Between Oceans’ is her first novel. Go away.” (O.K., so I added the last sentence myself.) Stedman has mostly shunned press interviews as well — but not entirely, and because this is the age of the Internet it’s possible for a determined reader to track down a couple of profiles that ran in her native Australia this spring. They are, refreshingly, less about her personality than her novel, the story of a World War I veteran who moves with his wife to a remote island for work as a lighthouse keeper. “There is something that appeals to the human psyche about lighthouses because of their isolation,” Stedman told The Sydney Morning Herald in March. “Their presence offers up a marvelous set of dichotomies the human imagination likes to explore — darkness and light, safety and danger, stasis and movement, isolation and communication. The story throws up the role of isolation on morality — when you don’t see the impact of your actions. Perhaps it’s easier to fool yourself when you cannot see the face of those who are affected by what you do.” The article does offer a few glimpses of the private Stedman (the “M” stands for Margot, and she has worked as a lawyer), but for the most part she stands her ground with admirably Pynchonian resolve. “Details of my life won’t really shed light on the story,” she said. “I’d much rather let readers focus on the book and their own experience of it.”

 

Yikes! This publicity pic looks like she cut it out of the school librarian directory.

OK - enough..... Please enjoy the book....

Happy Reading,

LK

August Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
We meet next Thursday, August 21, at Julie's to discuss Harlan Coben's "Missing You".  Please RSVP to Julie.

Coben is New Jersey through and through: born, raised, educated (except for his stint at Amherst), married and rooted there. I know some of New Jersey and I know his childhood swimming teacher, pictured below (middle!):

Hope you are enjoying the Coben ride of this latest novel; our twisty-mystery summer read!

Happy Reading,
LK

July Bookclub Recap

Dear Bookclub,
A short and sweet visit; I was so sorry to miss the reported discussion on "Defending Jacob" at Kate's. From Diane, Julie and Kate: great debate and pondering about the murder gene and family dynamics ensued around the dining table (also great food and drink!) "Jake was guilty; Jake was innocent; Jake's mother did it." Everyone agreed that it was an engaging read.

Kate further addressed, "Reactive Attachment Disorder with which Jacob was diagnosed, although it was noted in the book that this would  be a very unusual diagnosis for a boy without severe attachment (abandonment) or abuse issues with his primary caregiver. I don't think a boy raised as Jacob was could have this diagnosis. I do think there were several underdeveloped or unsubstantiated ideas thrown at the reader in this book - probably why we had so many different interpretations and opinions in our discussion. Regardless, the book certainly held my attention and was a great topic for discussion." 

Fantastic titles were presented by Kate for November's choice:

~ "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors and the Collision of Two Cultures" by Anne Fadiman

~ ""The Book of Unknow Americans: A Novel" by Cristina Henriquez

~ "Euphoria" by Lily King

~"To Rise Again at a Decent Hour" by Joshua Ferris *chosen

Holiday plans are being researched. Kate and Karen have graciously agreed to be our committee. Stay tuned. Thank you so much K & K!!

And it's Throwback Thursday........


From March 2005:

 

Happy Reading,
LK

July Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
Not with typical family drama, William Landay's twisted tale, "Defending Jacob", presents the Barbers on a spiraling downward course of disturbing events. Discussion will be wide-eyed. Please RSVP to Kate for our next meeting, this Thursday, July 17.

Pictured above is James Fallon, a neuroscientist from UC Irvine, and his family. Studying the brains of psychopaths for nearly 20 years, Fallon made a startling discovery: his ancestry of violent murderers. And there's much more..... please check out the story below:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127888976

Interesting that the mentioned factor of child abuse in the NPR report seems to be missing in Landay's book.  Obviously this is not a precise and exacting condition... many factors involved.

Careful reading! (then you can reward yourself with a carefree reading!)
LK