October 2017 Recap

Dear Bookclub,
Karen's autumn womb of orange-delight, enveloped our group as we settled in to discuss Ian McEwan's "Nutshell". Enjoying fine wine and absorbing conversation, we tapped into our inner-fetus imaginings to wrap our little heads around McEwan's main character. The journey alongside Shakepeare's "Hamlet" will not be forgotten although Karen's pragmatic style just couldn't jump onto the merry-go-round.

Giving three very good suggestion for an upcoming read, the chance for a landslide vote was nil. Deciding:

"Young Jane Young" Gabrielle Zevin
"Big Little Lies" Liane Moriarty
"Handmaid's Tale" Margaret Atwood *chosen



Up next: Ann Hood's "the book that matters most".

Happy reading,
LK

October 2017 Bookclub News

Stepha Lawson artwork

 Dear Bookclub,

McEwan, at it again, crafting a tale to settle in our brains like a good Brothers Grimm image, has birthed "Nutshell, perfect for our bookclub discussion. Actually, 'tis reminiscent of Shakespeare:


https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/ian-mcewans-nutshell-a-tale-of-betrayal-and-murder-as-told-by-a-fetus/2016/09/12/8b31ba22-7694-11e6-b786-19d0cb1ed06c_story.html?utm_term=.b2546e9faa94


Please, please watch the video at the top of this review. I promise you will love it.

Karen's suggestions for an upcoming read:
 

"Handmaids Tale" Margaret Atwood

"Young Jane Young, a novel" Gabrielle Zevin

"Big Little Lies"  Liane Moriarty

Do your research and please be prepared to vote this Thursday.

Sneaky reading,
LK

Illustration: Bay Leung from "South China Morning Post" 'Nutshell' review

September 2017 Recap

 The Aftermath

Dear Bookclub,
In an attempt to evoke the style and grace of a fine hotel, say the Metropol Hotel, our group gathered around my linen-draped dining room table for a smattering of small bites, tea and of course, wine. Labels included. A discussion of "A Gentleman in Moscow" ensued. All enjoyed it very much, even Martha, who had yet to read it but was a smashing success as the reader's guide leader. Distractions kept me from photographing properly; the aftermath is instead recorded above.

We missed Kim but her presence was well-recognized as we struggled to chose a book from among the fine list she provided:

"News of the World"  Paulette Jiles *chosen
"The Secret She Keeps" Michael Robotham
"Midwinter Break" Bernard MacLaverty



Up next: Dana Point excursion to the Blue Lantern Inn:

October's read: "Nutshell" Ian McEwan

Happy Reading!

LK

September 2017 Bookclub News

Nina!

Dear Bookclub,
Savoring "A Gentleman in Moscow", I better start sipping and chewing a bit faster in time for next week's bookclub. Refreshing in scope and language, Amor Towles has given us a gift to read this month!


Wonderful Amor Towles NPR interview to peruse linked below, describing Towles' process and inspiration for Count Rostov's confined journey:

http://www.npr.org/2016/09/06/492434255/idea-for-gentleman-in-moscow-came-from-many-nights-in-luxury-hotels

the grand dining room of the Metropol

Towles has compiled a brief chronology of citations describing life in the Metropol from various memoirs and Russian novels. He states, "Close readers will note that some of these citations have been collaged into my depiction of the hotel." Please enjoy this incredible selection:

http://www.amortowles.com/gentleman-moscow-amor-towles/moscow-metropol-references/

Finally, forgive me for leading you to all these links, but they are good! This one includes a fabulous, short video of WSJ's Lucy Feldman interviewing Towles in NYC's Russian Tea Room:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/amor-towles-expands-his-portfolio-with-a-gentleman-in-moscow-1472743341


 Kim's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"Midwinter Break" Bernard MacLaverty
"The Secret She Keeps" Michael Robotham
"News of the World" Paulette Jiles

Please research and be ready to vote at our upcoming meeting.

Happy reading!
LK

August 2017 Recap

Festive table with money!!! (see Diane below)

Dear Bookclub,
Lori treated us to marvelous Vietnamese fare as we gathered to discuss Viet Thanh Ngyuen's, "The Sympathizer". Our group had not all read the challenging award winning novel, but those that had the dip into Ngyuen's world of the spy-sympathizer, agreed his crafting was a mind-boggling feat. Ngyuen, himself, born in Vietnam but raised in the USA, coming here as a refugee with his family at the age of four, has been steeped in dual identity, a mighty theme in the book. I urge you to read this book if you haven't; the racial/cultural stereotyping, the history, the betrayals, and of course the language, i.e. the writing, are all remarkable.
Well-attended, the meeting did not linger on the heaviness of the book for long!

Our Star-hostess Lori

Diane discovers her money!

Rare appearance of Kim.....

and Jan!

A little discussion ensued about the Pulitzer Prize and its requirements. I learned that it is given to an American writer, for work preferably dealing with American life (Anthony Doerr's "All the Light We Cannot See" was honored in 2015 and not American life but so beautiful!) Please check out everything you wanted to know about the Pulitzer Prize from wikipedia:

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

Also a link to the announcement that a Vietnamese immigrant won the prize (note the vocabulary at the bottom; site is for English learners- interesting!)

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/vietnamese-immigrant-first-book-wins-pulitzer-prize/3292920.html

More about the winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature:

http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-category/219

Which led me to find this great piece about what really happened in 2012 when no award was given:

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/letter-from-the-pulitzer-fiction-jury-what-really-happened-this-year


Lori's suggestions for an upcoming selection:

"the book that matters most" by Ann Hood *chosen
"Homegoing" by Yaa Gyasi
"The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin


Up next:

Happy reading!
LK

August 2017 Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
Looking for that last easy-breezy summer read? This is not it! Viet Thanh Nguyen's "The Sympathizer" thoughtfully written, takes thought to appreciate. Dive in and take the journey- it will be unlike any other book you've read this summer, this year or even beyond. I do recommend a bit of research to help comprehension:

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/books/review/the-sympathizer-by-viet-thanh-nguyen.html

Wow:
Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Winner of the 2016 Edgar Award for Best First Novel
Winner of the 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction
Winner of the 2016 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction
Winner of the 2015 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
Winner of the 2015-2016 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (Adult Fiction)
Winner of the 2016 California Book Award for First Fiction
Winner of the 2017 Association for Asian American Studies Award for Best Book in Creative Writing (Prose)
Finalist for the 2016 PEN/Faulkner Award
Finalist for the 2016 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction
Finalist for the 2016 Medici Book Club Prize
Finalist for the 2015 Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Mystery/Thriller)
Finalist for the 2016 ABA Indies Choice/E.B. White Read-Aloud Award (Book of the Year, Adult Fiction)
Shortlisted for the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award
Named a Best Book of the Year on more than twenty lists, including the New York Times Book Review, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post

Studiously reading,
LK

July 2017 Recap

 

Dear Bookclub,
A perfect summer evening settled in on Kate's corner of paradise as our little group gathered for "Small Great Things". Kate actually indulged us with large great things:

La Maison de Kate

featuring visiting chef

Megan L.

July 20, 2017

menu

round table temptations

 ᏡᏡᏡ

hall of dining and discussion

  ᏡᏡᏡ

sweet endings

Ꮱ

Graced by a visit from Megan, we were treated to her shrimp and chicken kabobs, sharp insight and delightful conversation. A exquisite chip off the old block!

Jodi Picoult's novel about American racism impassioned our read, as Picoult tried her best to reveal the complicated, charged experience of being black. Keenly reviewed by Roxane Gay, in the October 11, 2016 New York Times Book Review, Gay notes:

"The more we see of Ruth and her family, the more their characterization feels like black-people bingo — as if Picoult is working through a checklist of issues in an attempt to say everything about race in one book."

Roxane Gay

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/books/review/jodi-picoult-small-great-things-roxane-gay.html 

Our feeling was the same, recognizing characters and situations that abound in our society. With an especially tidy ending, Martha-Stewart-tidy, packaged in finest cellophane and crisp bow, eye-rolling became stilled by the undeniable task of acknowledging the challenge of making a difference. The book will forever remind me of that work.

Kate's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"Americanah"  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

"Homegoing"   Yaa Gyasi

"Sapiens:A Brief History of Mankind" Yuval Noah Harari

"Nutshell" Ian McEwan *chosen

Up next, Viet Thanh Ngyuen's "The Sympathizer".

Studiously reading,

LK