March 2017 recap

Dear Bookclub,
How can yet another beautiful day be the backdrop for a bookclub meeting on the Veranda? Great planning and good luck of course!


Or as a memory book may state:

"Six ladies 'round the table,
ate and talked a bit...
riding the train to wisdom,
they relished kindred spirit."

Ivan Doig's "Last Bus to Wisdom" delighted our group with a warming reminiscence; vivid characters and a darling protagonist drew us into a story that will be our fond memory of Doig's final work.

My choices for an upcoming selection:

1) "The Mothers" Brit Bennet  - rejected

2) "Elephant Company" Vicki Constantine Croke - considered

3) "The Swans of Fifth Avenue"  Melanie Benjamin - pondered

4) "Florence Gordon" Brian Morton- * chosen


Up next:

Alison Lurie's "Foreign Affairs"

Reading delightfully,
LK

March 2017 Bookclub News

 “If I have any creed that I wish you as readers, necessary accomplices in this flirtatious ceremony of writing and reading, will take with you from my pages, it’d be this belief of mine that writers of caliber can ground their work in specific land and lingo and yet be writing of that larger country: life”  Ivan Doig



Dear Bookclub,
Doig's "Last Bus to Wisdom" has been a surprise to me. Corny characters and adages knit together an endearing tale - thank goodness: his last work will be fondly remembered.

"Ivan Doig when his father and grandmother were at odds over him"  - Montana State University Library Archives

Please peruse the Montana State University Library Archives for a richly layered research junket through the Ivan Doig world. The medical journey is especially interesting for the inclusion of Doig's thoughts about the process of his struggle with his final illness and actual medical records.

http://ivandoig.montana.edu/

After combing my bookshelves and finding many titles I mean to read and then realizing I have not read them because they 'don't excite me', here are some that I would consider exciting to pick up... please consider for an upcoming selection:

1) "The Mothers" Brit Bennet
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/the-mothers-a-fantastic-debut-novel-by-brit-bennett/2016/10/13/ee701c72-9148-11e6-9c85-ac42097b8cc0_story.html?utm_term=.62811979e8c6

2) "Elephant Company" Vicki Constantine Croke
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18691058-elephant-company

3) "The Swans of Fifth Avenue"  Melanie Benjamin
https://smile.amazon.com/Swans-Fifth-Avenue-Novel-ebook/product-reviews/B00X2F109A/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_paging_btm_next_3?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&sortBy=recent&pageNumber=3

4) "Florence Gordon" Brian Morton

http://www.npr.org/2014/10/06/352763474/florence-gordon-isnt-friend-material-but-youll-appreciate-her


Happy reading!
LK