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