January 2016 Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,

Our first meeting of 2016 is rapidly approaching! Blissfully consumed still with Christmas, I am relishing my favorite part of the season, seated in the midst of all the decor, properly at its peak, before poinsettias wither and cookies stale, ornaments droop and toy-strewn rooms no longer feel charming, writing my cards, while sipping tea and nibbling chocolate. January looms like a monster peaking around the corner. But my nighttime reading jolts me out of the sugarplum fantasy as Julia Pierpont's "Among the Ten Thousand Things" reveals a vulgar family drama with depressing wit. Happy New Year!

 Looking forward to getting together to chat it up. Wanda has chosen 12:30 at Cork & Craft for our gathering. See you then...




Happy reading,
LK

 

December 2015 Bookclub News

                                     December 2, 2015

Dear Bookclub,

I was surprised to find sand in my toes when I removed my socks last night, after hours of putting away Thanksgiving decorations, resetting the house, sorting mail, paying bills, cleaning out the fridge, laundry, collecting pumpkins, and unpacking my car. Oh yes! The beach. Hardly seemed like 45 minutes away and 12 hours previous. Also, a measly can of sardines and a bunch of chard shrank on my plate when visions of the delicious chain of meals with the best of friends crept into my mind. Reality hit hard. But it was so worth every moment.

December 7, 2015

Reality keeps on giving. The holiday train has left the station complete with the garage bay full of boxes of decorations, an 8 day blast of Hanukah (Suzanne arrived on Sunday!), and Nate in bed with the flu. I am so OK though as I reminisce about "a week ago today......." This la-la land will collapse though - I know it will. Until then, there is a Santa reading to a band of teddy bears in the Coronado Library, a tree glowing in the 1906 for a lucky variety of visitors, 

 and a group of lovely women facing the holidays with a renewed bond of friendship through our literary passion:

 Anne Tyler's "A Spool of Blue Thread" was well-received as we pieced together the meanings and 'weight' of the characters, easily relating the cast to familiar family dynamics. Tyler's craft was very much appreciated despite the obvious tie-in with the spool of blue thread; the writing warming with the wealth of relationships.

Trudy recommended four great titles to consider for our April read:
"The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah
"Fates and Furies" by Lauren Groff
"Circling the Sun" by Paula McClain  *chosen
"The Secret Chord" by Geraldine Brooks

Happy Holiday Reading!
XO,
LK

November 2015 Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,

Lunch at Terrie's was a beautiful harvest feast and a stark contrast to the content at hand: discussion of "The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace". A book I will long remember along with the unresolved discomfort of the race/class issues, it seems there was an understanding that Rob had made some very bad choices in light of all the opportunities to make better ones. Still feeling heavy-hearted about the outcome, I can't help but have a terrifying empathy for Rob and his community.

On a lighter note, we had a very light guest at Terrie's:

Chase Paul

His input to the discussion went something like this, "coo-coo-coo-coo". Very verbal.

Considered for our upcoming March selection:
"The Lost Landscape" by Joyce Carol Oates
"Last Bus to Wisdom: A Novel" by Ivan Doig
"Ordinary Grace" by William Kent Krueger *chosen


Up next, our beloved trip to Coronado! Here we come 1906...

I have reserved dinner at Primavera for Monday 11/30 at 7, Chez Loma for Tuesday 12/1 at 7 and finally lunch for our discussion at Tartine for Wednesday 12/2 at 12:30.

I am really looking forward to our discussion of Anne Tyler's "A Spool of Blue Thread".

Anne Tyler

Happy Reading,
LK

October 2015 Recap

Dear Bookclub,

{re-enactment sans umbrellas and chatty patrons}

Circling our salads on the Veranda, we merrily gathered our sextet to decipher and relish our platters and Lily King's "Euphoria". Well-liked, Nell was imagined by our readers as a remarkable tribute to Margaret Mead's feminist and scientific contributions. Boo-hoo the love triangle and the dastardly Fen but that's what made the pages turn!

Val thoughtfully and efficiently distributed sheets of book descriptions for our February 2016 selection:

"Orhan's Inheritance" by Aline Ohanesian *chosen
"The Japanese Lover" by Isabel Allende
"The Marriage of Opposites" by Alice Hoffman
"Henna House" by Nomi Eve

As is often the case, not an easy decision- lots of good reads.


Next up is "The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace" by Jeff Hobbs on November 4 at Terrie G's.

A teeny spoiler alert on this great L.A. Times review by Hector Tobar (my "Deep Down Dark" heart-throb author) ....not any big reveal but does explore why not so tragic and gives a synopsis:

http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-jeff-hobbs-20140928-story.html




 Happy Reading!
LK

October 2015 Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
Our December getaway to the 1906 Lodge on Coronado is on! Please make your reservation, if you haven't already, for Monday, November 30 - Wednesday, December 2. After the recent inquiry, plans for our group to go to the Huntington Gardens and Library will be better for spring.

October's selection, "Euphoria" by Lily King, 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.)

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 cenetered around "Coming of Age in Somoa" 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

Val has chosen a cheerful lunch on the Veranda, 12:30, October 7.

Happy reading!
LK

September 2015 Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,

Big picture: Only a subset of our group (approximately 2/3 of us) was present today at our meeting and that group really liked "Dead Wake" for no other reason than we learned so much. I guess being ignorant of facts surrounding America's entry into WWI had us primed for page-turning Erik Larson's depiction of the Lusitania's demise. Admittedly, I have been obsessed with similar disasters since some childhood moment when I became aware of the Titanic (camp song?). The human element in the survival/death tales imbedded in Larson's heavily researched retelling of the events surrounding the sinking of the Lusitania drew me in. However, our big take-away was the baiting done to engage forces into combat, then and always.

Little picture: The individuals. From a Lusitania information website, http://www.rmslusitania.info/people/statistics/  :


How many people died in the Lusitania sinking?  How many survived? 

	Total	Survived	Died	Survival rate
Saloon (First Class)	290	113	177	39.0%
Second Cabin (Second Class)	601	229	372	38.1%
Third Class	370	134	236	36.2%
Deported Seamen (Third Class)	3	0	3	0.0%
Total Passengers	1,264	476	788	37.7%
Stowaways	3	0	3	0.0%
Band	5	3	2	60.0%
Deck Crew	69	37	32	53.6%
Engineering Crew	313	112	201	35.8%
Victualling Crew	306	139	167	45.4%
Total Crew (including Band)	693	291	402	42.0%
Total Complement (with stowaways)	1,960	767	1,193	39.1%

I have not yet done breakdown by nationality or age group, but those are worth considering for future updates.  Accounting for the four survivors who died not long afterwards, this becomes:

	Total	Survived	Died	Survival rate
Total Complement (with stowaways)	1,960	763	1,197	38.9%

 (Conclusion: be in the band)

Now it is time for some levity. Very nice wine at lunch....

Titles Terry recommended for consideration for upcoming read:
 "Purity" by Jonathan Franzen
"Among  the Ten Thousand Things"  by Julie Peirpont *chosen
"Go Set a Watchman" by Harper Lee
"The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Up next: "Euphoria" by Lily King

Happy Reading,
LK

August 2015 Recap

Dear Bookclub,
After yet another midlife calendar crisis, we rallied and met two weeks post our normal schedule. It was a nice gathering at Cork and Craft although we missed Wanda's presence. She was happily occupied. Now, between Hazel Poe and Chase Paul ..... two new grandchildren in our fold!! With literary sounding names too.

"The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" was just what our summer reading lists ordered as we all agreed it was an enjoyable fling with our virtual pages.

Up next - (spoiler alert):

Erik Larsen's  "Dead Wake" is our September read. TG put the following program on our radar. I am chasing the channels and hope to see it ASAP. I believe it will be shown next on August 31st.

http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/sinking-the-lusitania-an-american-tragedy/0/3420538

We discussed moving our September date given the first Wednesday would be two short weeks after our delayed August meeting. I believe we agreed on 9/9 but I could be wrong.... anybody? Location is TF's choice.

Books considered for our next selection included:

"The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace" by Jeff Hobbs *chosen
"Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932" by Francine Prose
"1 Dead in Attic after Katrina" by Chris Rose
"The Miniaturist" by Jessie Burton

Keep on reading!
LK

August Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
August 12 will be our next rendezvous, to discuss "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" by Gabrielle Zevin.

'A love letter to the joys of reading', as described in a March 2014 NPR interview, the novel delves into describing characters based on what they are reading. Fikry's bookstore is an avenue to our passion with the book along with love, loss and friendship. Zevin describes Fikry as an extremely isolated character who reads in order to avoid engaging yet she says, "the best thing about reading is that it kind of can help us engage with other people."  Bookclub!! Please enjoy the entire NPR interview: http://www.npr.org/2014/03/28/294393870/in-storied-life-characters-come-with-a-reading-list


Let's lunch at "Brooklyn Girl" at 12:30 on August 12 for our discussion.

http://brooklyngirleatery.com/


Happy reading,
LK

July 2015 Recap

Dear Bookclub,

 Leisurely lunching, despite the staring wall of piranhas over our shoulders, the Ironside eatery was a most hospitable place to place ourselves for a "Boy, Snow, Bird"discussion and a feast. From oysters to olive oil cake, we marveled at Helen Oyeyemi's talent and the end-of-story reveal.

"feed me feed me" called the fishies like the "pay me pay me" parking reminders chimed by our phones

Catching up with each other was tremendously fun (and interesting - thank you Val for your amazing sister story). Of course it is never enough and some of us lingered with shopping in Little Italy - just to be sure to kill off the afternoon properly.

Wanda's suggestions for the next selection:
"Florence Gordon" by Brian Morton
"The Empire of Necessity" by Greg Grandin
"Euphoria" by Lily King     *chosen

Alas, I must admit, as of this writing, I could not remember what the first two titles were about. My research has yielded a purchase on Amazon for #1 and a reminder to tell Terrie G. to please check out #2 - it is right up your love-of-historic-fiction alley.

Next up - August meeting will be moved to the second Wednesday, August 12, and I have traded spots with Terrie G. who is on baby watch!!!!

Read on,
LK

PS A few activities were enthusiastically mentioned that we need to plan  - Pickleball & touring models of  The Estates in Del Sur. Ideas?

What's in a name....

Dear Bookclub,
We'll be meeting this Wednesday, July 8th at 12:30 at Ironside Fish & Oyster House in Little Italy:

http://www.ironsidefishandoyster.com/

I love this website's cover photo - so Wanda! Actually, I've been there too and it'll be great.

What's in a name? "Boy, Snow, Bird" richly drained the color out of our circle of names.... and even Helen's full name(see below) turns your imagination in a little twist. A 2014 Profile of H.O.O on NPR.org reveals that fairy tales are the influence. Her father is a substitute teacher and her mother works for the London Underground - Helen was always at the library. Her discontent with "Little Women" started her writing - she made her own endings to the stories that did not go her way. Read more:

http://www.npr.org/2014/03/07/282065410/the-professionally-haunted-life-of-helen-oyeyemi

Helen Olajumoke Oyeyemi is a Nigerian-born British writer, currently living in Prague and incredibly accomplished at 30 years of age. "Boy, Snow, Bird" is hardly her first widely acclaimed work:"The Icarus Girl" was written before she turned 19.

Looking forward to being together and having a great discussion!
Read on,
LK

June Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
Our enjoyable beach day transported us to the carefree Posiedon porch of sea & sand delight to discuss the sordid world of one female London commuter gone awry. Gagging down margaritas, after being immersed in Rachel's alcoholic haze, was not as challenging as I'd imagined. Paula Hawkins' "The Girl on the Train" stoked discussion of creepy plausibility and the fascinating terror of having blackouts. The popularity of the book is undeniable and it was actually declared the fastest-selling adult novel in history in the article from The Daily Beast:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/20/the-fastest-selling-adult-novel-in-history-paula-hawkins-the-girl-on-the-train.html

Meanderings in Boston brought me to these relics at the Central Public Library:

 Random room of marionettes.....

 early wireless printer

Joan of Arc

cards (!)

And I must share my favorite area- the lions at the staircase.....

Next up , we will meet on July 8 to discuss "Boy, Snow, Bird" by Helen Oyeyemi. Wanda's choice of location to be announced.

Happy Reading!

LK

 

May 2015 Recap

Dear Bookclub,
"All the Light You Cannot See" was undeniably appreciated as a great read, amazing us with images and stories of WWII beyond what we've already experienced in our many, many previous books set during the war. We greatly missed Val at our first homey-gathering in a long while although we were comforted by Whiskey:

Suggestions for September's bookclub roused our normal discussion of "they are all sound good", "I'm going to read them all anyway" and waylaid googling of ratings, etc. Actually, Maureen Corrigan's description of  Helen Macdonald's "H is for Hawk" captivated me but the description I gave turned off our table of critics. http://www.npr.org/2015/03/12/392572768/how-we-deal-with-loss-in-different-ways-in-two-beautifully-written-memoirs

Toni Morrison's "God Help the Child" was taken out by a bit of unenthusiastic feeling for her other works (not me!). That left Kate Atkinson's latest, "A God in Ruins", and Erik Larson's, "Dead Wake", both well-received. "Dead Wake" got the most votes - perhaps "A God in Ruins" will be suggested again.

Next up is "The Girl on the Train". I'll admit that I haven't started it yet - so cautioned am I by the promise of being riveted, I need to be sure I am fed and comfortable before I commence.

June 3rd destination to be announced. Stay tuned!

Happy reading,
LK

May 2015 Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
"All the Light You Cannot See" invites us into the World War II web of the magic of radio, the 1940 invasion of Paris, Hilter-youth and two children whose lives intersect in an unimaginable light. Anthony Doerr abundantly collects awards and this compelling work adds to his collection with his recent honor of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize. Such a weighted subject for a little tea. But that's what we will do on Wednesday. Please come enjoy a spirited discussion with some spirited tea: 3PM.

Happy Reading,
LK

April 2015 Bookclub News

"Spring Reading"

Dear Bookclub,
Sitting on the patio of The French Market Grill, we decided that our springtime could not be much better. The food was especially tasty and our conversation, dainty in the springtime-patio fashion, enjoyable. Jane Smiley's "Some Luck" was also enjoyed and anticipation about the proposed trilogy triggered speculation about the development of the characters in this current book. Several characters seemed destined to be something more dramatic. The fading possibility of that drama as the book came to an end was replaced with a satisfaction that the marriage was the drama in its ever-widening scope of time and characters; a fulfilled marriage.

Next month, I plan to have us meet in my dining room so we can challenge dainty conversation. Anthony Doerr's "All the Light We Cannot See" will be a great discussion for sure. And the dainty conversation is not about this book but refers to the private atmosphere; Whiskey and wine will be in attendance.
 
In a stroke of absolute group genius, at our last meeting, we all collectively threw up our arms and pronounced that all the selections Val proposed were very good and that we'd be happy to read any of them. We are so discriminating.

"The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry" by Gabrielle Zevin *
"The Pearl That Broke its Shell" by Nadia Hashimi
"Leaving Before the Rains Come" by Alexandra Fuller
"A Spool of Blue Thread" by Anne Tyler

*chosen (after all, it was the first).

Happy Reading,
LK

Upcoming April 2015 Bookclub Meeting News

Dear Bookclub,
Jane Smiley's "Some Luck" is  the first volume of a planned trilogy. Seems daunting to our  future memory challenges (re: Marilynne Robinson's well-liked Gilead/Home/Lila trilogy we recently 'harvested'). (Not to forget Housekeeping which was not on our list - or was it???) Yet, this first novel in the series is extremely readable and graceful.

"Some Luck" chronicles Midwestern farm life in the author's wry and poignant manner, making for a good read and neatly categorizing it for a Smiley Pulitzer or National Book Award Winner.

Please be sure to RSVP to Val for our upcoming meeting at the French Market Grill, 12:30.

Happy Reading!
LK

March 2015 Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
Lingering the rest of the day: the joy of camaraderie, thoughts of Lila and the odor of Brothers Provisions cooking in our threads (and hair). Tolerant of our lingering presence, Brothers kept us in the spirit of ladies who lunch and kill an afternoon, supplying tea and chocolate when lunch fortification wore thin. Lila would have never stayed around so long.

So glad to have Valerie join us after her month of healing and so glad to toast Terrie in honor of her impending grandmotherdom, the afternoon was a warm and wonderful gathering. We discussed the layering of Marilynne Robinson's story, told over and over from different off-centered character perspectives in different novels. Marveling at our lousy memories, we still held fast to the fact that we all remembered enjoying Robinson's books despite being foggy on the particulars.

(Contact Us - if you remember!)

Terry proposed three great selections for an upcoming read:

"Boy, Snow, Bird" by Helen Oyeyemi *
"Wonder (Wonder #1) by R.J. Palacio
"What Alice Forgot" by Liane Moriarty

*chosen


April brings Jane Smiley's "Some Luck" with our location TBD by Val. Stay tuned.

Happy Reading,
LK

February 2015 Recap

Dear Bookclub,
There was no dancing around Val's absence at our recent meeting. Considering the lowest ratings on Terrie's suggested titles for our upcoming selection, members covertly consulted cell phones as a nod to the learned wisdom from our missing friend. It was not much conciliation and we felt the weight of the post-surgical pain she must be experiencing and realized that reading any old book would be preferable to a medicated haze. Later, learning of Val's positive outcome, the faith in her constitution restored, we rejoice and look forward to a lively discussion (of "Lila") with all in March! ("The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins was chosen for June*.)

Bernard O's was the setting for our discussion of "The Remarkable Courtship of General Tom Thumb". I loved, loved, loved this book. Just a personal statement I had to sneak in. Sending me to google photos of the whales, wiki Barnum's story, and order two more books (Melanie Benjamin's "The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb: A Novel"  {remember this is the author of "The Aviator's Wife"?!} and A H Saxon's "Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb"), my imagination was zapped with the tales of the Civil War, New York City abuzz with the museum, Barnum, Barnum and Lincoln, etc.

Next up: Marilynne Robinson's "Lila". Terry's choice of location to be announced for our meeting on March 4.

Happy Reading!
LK


PS * other titles considered

"The Secret Wisdom of the Earth" by Christopher Scotton
"Lillian on Life" by Alison Jean Lester
"Sea of Glory" by Nathaniel Philbrick

February 2015 Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
The Barrel Room survived our rollicking group for our January discussion of "Home Leave". Appreciative of Brittani Sonnenberg's creative telling of a family's life spinning through countries and decades, we picked through the settings and emotions, deciphering perceptions of truth. All eyes and ears settled on Terry relating her personal experiences of being an expat with her sister.

Wanda presented three selections for consideration for our May meeting:

"The Pearl That Broke Its Shell" by Nadia Hashimi
"Nora Webster" by Colm Toibin
"All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr *
"The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry" by Gabrielle Zevin

 *chosen


Next up, for February:

 This novel is a terrific blend of historic fact of entertaining fantasy. Rinaldi, a professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, is a well-published poet and novelist. Nearly sporting the PT look of our millennium, the distinguished author and Barnum could pull off the family tree.

(The above photo is General Tom Thumb wedding Lavinia.)

Happy Reading!

LK

January 2015 Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
Happy New Year! We are meeting next on Friday, January 9 at 11:30 at the Barrel Room to discuss Brittani Sonnenberg's, "Home Leave". Sonnenberg's debut novel centers around the globetrotting lifestyle she grew up in.

The above illustration is from "Denizen", an online magazine for TCK(Third Culture Kids) that featured an article written by Sonnenberg: http://www.denizenmag.com/2012/03/the-enigma-of-arrival/

Our early December adventure proved to be a meaningful launch to the Christmas season, with the camaraderie cherished by the best of friends in an unseasonably chilly Coronado:

Our very perfect group at the the very perfect 1906 Lodge.

Finally, a very good friend of mine, Pam Warnock, is putting together an author's dinner on Wednesday February 11th at Carver's. She has 3 authors lined up: Susan Meissner, whose latest book, "The Secrets of a Charmed Life", comes out the first week of February (about the Blitz in WWII), Marivi Soliven, author of "The Mango Bride" (this book won one of the highest literary awards in the Philippines), and Pat Jackson-Collando, author of "Stashes", a satire about Gen X and the Millenniums. An interesting line-up! Attendees will have a choice of salmon, chicken or prime rib and one of three salads, coffee/tea or soft drink. Cost will be $45-50 including tax and gratuity. Please let me know if you are interested in attending and I will help arrange.

Happy Reading!
LK

PS A big thank you to Trudy for organizing and delivering our donations to our adopted family through the Interfaith Services.

PPS Trudy's suggestions for selections:

"Some Luck" by Jane Smiley *
"Redployment" by Phil Kay
"All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

*chosen