Dear Bookclub,
Our ambitious read month was perfectly balanced with a grand gathering at Palm Springs' Avalon. Now, seemingly so long ago, our post-Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas jaunt elevated our holiday spirits and fortified our bond. Plied with great food and drink, we reconnected, rested, and discussed.
A bit disappointed in Jenny D. Williams' "The Atlas of Forgotten Places", most in the group felt it dragged and was at times, not an easy read. However the setting and overall attention to Uganda and the Congo were welcomed. Kristin Hannah's "The Great Alone" was well-received and discussion centered on the different characters and how, despite being such obvious caricatures, the harsh Alaskan life delivers those kinds of people exactly. I personally had a hard time not eye-rolling as the ending unfolded yet the tears dropped down my cheeks. How does that kind of emotional hijacking occur even when you know it is coming?! Maddening!
Upcoming suggestions from Val:
"The Library" Susan Orlean *chosen
"On Sunset: A Memoir" Kathryn Harrison
"An American Marriage" Tayari Jones
Upcoming suggestions from Terrie:
"Virgil Wander" Leif Enger
"Where the Crawdads Sing" Delia Owens
"Being Mortal" Atul Gawande *chosen
Up next: Tara Westover's "Educated: A Memoir"
A distortion of reality is how Tara Westover describes her upbringing. She journeys through the pain and the truth that much of her childhood was beautiful despite the grossly abusive scenario.
"How an abused Mormon child read her way into a top university."* Westover's book begins with a statement declaring that it is not necessarily Mormonism that created her situation but that of an extremist:in this case, a fundamentalist Mormon.
*https://www.noted.co.nz/currently/profiles/how-an-abused-mormon-child-read-her-way-into-a-top-university/
And a deeply ingrained upbringing:
Tara sings a Mormon hymn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlO_QkqQ9cE
Looking forward to our discussion.
Happy New Year reading,
LK
