Monday
April Bookgroup meeting
Our April meeting was held at Kitty's lovely East Sac home. People shared stories, photos, maps and books from their travels. It was a very worldly get together...and the food was great too!
“A rich account of one woman’s journey through Europe and into the self.”
“The best books, like the best vacations, contain unexpected delights, surprises that enrich the soul as well as the senses. This is a book about love, and longing, and the passage of time. It’s about hope, and courage, and the resiliency of memory. This book is a feast. Bon appétit!”
“A rich account of one woman’s journey through Europe and into the self.”—Us Weekly
“I loved going along with Alice Steinbach as she goes off on this rare, wonderful adventure, an escape into discovering herself and some of the truly magical places in this world.” —DOMINICK DUNNE
“More than a chronicle of the writer’s search for self-discovery, Without Reservations is a lovely travelogue.”
—Chicago Tribune
“The best books, like the best vacations, contain unexpected delights, surprises that enrich the soul as well as the senses. This is a book about love, and longing, and the passage of time. It’s about hope, and courage, and the resiliency of memory. This book is a feast. Bon appétit!”
—The Des Moines Register
“Beautifully written, clear, insightful, thoughtful . . . Steinbach’s book should be taken in slowly and savored all the way.”
—St. Petersburg Times
Sunday
April Book
Can't wait to be an armchair traveler.
March Bookgroup meeting
Our March meeting was moved to a Saturday and started an hour earlier, but we still managed to talk until after 11:00. When we ladies get together we have a lot to say and some of it actually is about the book. Suzi hosted this months gathering at her lovely East Sac bungalow.
Flat Stanley joined us...he didn't have much to say but wow can that little guy eat...
March book choice
Deborah recommended this book for our March read: Tortilla Curtain by T.C Boyle
The two couples' paths cross unexpectedly when Cándido is hit and injured by Delaney, who is driving his car along the suburban roads near his home. For different reasons, each man prefers not to call the police or an ambulance. Cándido is afraid of being deported and Delancy is afraid of ruining his perfect driving record. Delaney soothes his conscience by giving Cándido "$20 blood money," explaining to Kyra that "He's a Mexican." From that moment on, the lives of the two couples are constantly influenced by the others."
and so begins our journey.
February Bookgroup meeting
February 2011 Book choice
"Mesmerizing and evocative, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a tale of conflicted loyalties, devotion, as well as a vibrant portrait of Seattle's Nihonmachi district in its heyday."
–Sara Gruen, New York Times Bestselling author of Water for Elephants
"Jamie Ford has written a tender and satisfying novel that is tucked into a part of Seattle history we would rather not face. Set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the damage that is caused by war--not the sweeping damage of the battlefield, but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. Especially relevant in today's world, this is a beautifully written book that will make you think. But, more importantly, it will make you feel."
– Garth Stein, NY Times bestselling author of THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN
"Jamie Ford's first novel explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle area during World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love. An impressive, bitter, and sweet debut.”
– Lisa See, bestselling author of SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN, PEONY IN LOVE
Here is Jamie Ford's website to find out more about the book and other Jamie projects
http://www.jamieford.com/interview/
January 2011 Book Club Meeting
Deborah hosted the January book club meeting at her lovely mid-town home.
Great food and fellowship.
What a wonderful way to wrap up a very grey Sacramento week.
Review of Kindred by John C. Snider © 2004
Life is good for Dana, a young black woman living in California. She and her husband have just moved into a new home, and their writing careers are taking off. Suddenly Dana's tranquility is shattered, as she finds herself transported from the present (1976) to antebellum Maryland, where she is forced to become both prote
ctor and house slave for Rufus, the young son of a plantation owner. Eventually Dana comes to the realization that Rufus is destined to be her great-great-grandfather, fathering a daughter through one of his slaves.
Kindred, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, is Octavia E. Butler's masterpiece. This novel is deeply emotional, beautifully written, and its historical context painstakingly researched. As Butler herself has pointed out many times, Kindred is not technically science fiction, since the mechanism by which Dana is transported through time is never explained or rationalized - which makes it all the more frightening. Nonetheless, time travel is central to the story of Kindred, and thus it has developed a cult following among SF&F fans. It is also probably the only "science fiction" novel to appear on the short list of books included in academic programs devoted to women's studies and black history.
Kindred is more that simply a victimization story of an intelligent black woman ripped from her comfy 20th century existence and thrown unexpectedly into the cruel slave culture of the Old South. We are told in the book's opening scene that Dana mysteriously loses her left arm as a result of her final return to modern times. Exactly how or why this happens is never fully explained, but perhaps this is a reference to the time when blacks were Constitutionally considered three-quarters of a person (perhaps it's a reminder that blacks are still not fully "whole" even today - although why that is could be the subject of hot debate). Dana's husband Kevin (who happens to be white) is transported back to Maryland with her, giving us a perfect opportunity to contrast his ability to assimilate to a society in which white men are virtual gods.
Review of Kindred by John C. Snider © 2004
Life is good for Dana, a young black woman living in California. She and her husband have just moved into a new home, and their writing careers are taking off. Suddenly Dana's tranquility is shattered, as she finds herself transported from the present (1976) to antebellum Maryland, where she is forced to become both prote
ctor and house slave for Rufus, the young son of a plantation owner. Eventually Dana comes to the realization that Rufus is destined to be her great-great-grandfather, fathering a daughter through one of his slaves.Thus begins a series of incidences in which Dana is shuttled back and forth between her home in California and her "home" in 19th century Maryland. She is forced to confront the central feature of American history - slavery - in a profound and personal way.
Kindred, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, is Octavia E. Butler's masterpiece. This novel is deeply emotional, beautifully written, and its historical context painstakingly researched. As Butler herself has pointed out many times, Kindred is not technically science fiction, since the mechanism by which Dana is transported through time is never explained or rationalized - which makes it all the more frightening. Nonetheless, time travel is central to the story of Kindred, and thus it has developed a cult following among SF&F fans. It is also probably the only "science fiction" novel to appear on the short list of books included in academic programs devoted to women's studies and black history.
Kindred is more that simply a victimization story of an intelligent black woman ripped from her comfy 20th century existence and thrown unexpectedly into the cruel slave culture of the Old South. We are told in the book's opening scene that Dana mysteriously loses her left arm as a result of her final return to modern times. Exactly how or why this happens is never fully explained, but perhaps this is a reference to the time when blacks were Constitutionally considered three-quarters of a person (perhaps it's a reminder that blacks are still not fully "whole" even today - although why that is could be the subject of hot debate). Dana's husband Kevin (who happens to be white) is transported back to Maryland with her, giving us a perfect opportunity to contrast his ability to assimilate to a society in which white men are virtual gods.Saturday
January 2011 Book choice
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler is our January book pick.
"Octavia Butler is a writer who will be with us for a long, long time, and Kindred is that rare magical artifact..the novel one returns to again and again," Harlan Ellison
"Octavia Butler is a writer who will be with us for a long, long time, and Kindred is that rare magical artifact..the novel one returns to again and again," Harlan EllisonHoliday Cookie Exchange
Betsy hosted our annual December book club cookie exchange.
Yummy fun to start the holiday session.
"With the same incomparable style and warm, inviting voice that have made her beloved by millions of readers far and wide, New York Times bestselling author Fannie Flagg has written an enchanting Christmas story of faith and hope for all ages that is sure to become a classic. — Deep in the southernmost part of Alabama, along the banks of a lazy winding river, lies the sleepy little community known as Lost River, a place that time itself seems to have forgotten. After a startling diagnosis from his doctor, Oswald T. Campbell leaves behind the cold and damp of the oncoming Chicago winter to spend what he believes will be his last Christmas in the warm and welcoming town of Lost River. There he meets the postman who delivers mail by boat, the store owner who nurses a broken heart, the ladies of the Mystic Order of the Royal Polka Dots Secret Society, who do clandestine good works. And he meets a little redbird named Jack, who is at the center of this tale of a magical Christmas when something so amazing happened that those who witnessed it have never forgotten it. Once you experience the wonder, you too will never forget A Redbird Christmas. " Bookjacket summary
November/December Book choice
Red Bird Christmas is the Nov/December book group choice. Fannie Flagg is a charming writer and this book is a perfect gift for the holiday session.
October Book Club meeting
What would you eat in a grave yard?
Suzi hosted the October/Nov book club meeting at her cute and cozy home.
"Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place-he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their timely ghostly teachings-like the ability to Fade. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other. This chilling tale is Neil Gaiman's first full-length novel for middle-grade readers since the internationally bestselling and universally acclaimed Coraline. Like Coraline, this book is sure to enchant and surprise young readers as well as Neil Gaiman's legion of adult fans." website book summery
Suzi hosted the October/Nov book club meeting at her cute and cozy home.
"Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place-he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their timely ghostly teachings-like the ability to Fade. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other. This chilling tale is Neil Gaiman's first full-length novel for middle-grade readers since the internationally bestselling and universally acclaimed Coraline. Like Coraline, this book is sure to enchant and surprise young readers as well as Neil Gaiman's legion of adult fans." website book summery
Monday
September Book Group Meeting
Here is a little about the book that started it all...
"Hoffman has a child’s dreamy eye, in the best possible sense. To her, the stuff grown-ups don’t see anymore looms huge and important — insects 
banging on windowpanes, thunderstorms, a chestnut tree with a door to the “otherworld.” She invents a realm where that sense of the fictive doesn’t go away, where imagination and reality bleed together. “The Story Sisters” itself is not a fairy tale. The characters in fairy tales are all good or all bad, and Hoffman’s characters are always moving back and forth, challenging our perceptions, daring us to judge them. Her sentences tremble with allegory; nothing in this novel is ever as it appears — or is it? As Elv becomes more troubled, she retreats farther into the world of Arnelle, and farther away from her sisters. Even the girls’ last name, Story, is whimsical, lending heft to Elv’s theory that they were renamed by mortal kidnappers — we mortals being so maddeningly literal. "
banging on windowpanes, thunderstorms, a chestnut tree with a door to the “otherworld.” She invents a realm where that sense of the fictive doesn’t go away, where imagination and reality bleed together. “The Story Sisters” itself is not a fairy tale. The characters in fairy tales are all good or all bad, and Hoffman’s characters are always moving back and forth, challenging our perceptions, daring us to judge them. Her sentences tremble with allegory; nothing in this novel is ever as it appears — or is it? As Elv becomes more troubled, she retreats farther into the world of Arnelle, and farther away from her sisters. Even the girls’ last name, Story, is whimsical, lending heft to Elv’s theory that they were renamed by mortal kidnappers — we mortals being so maddeningly literal. " 
New York Times Book review 2009
Friday in the Garden
End of summer book group meeting at Jane's house to celebrate the book "The Forgotten Garden". English cooking and garden fresh treats make for a lovely dinner under the stars.
Saturday
Summer Reading
Check out this website for the author
Kate Morton
http://www.katemorton.com/
The Help June Meeting, 2010
Lori hosted the June Book Group meeting-yummy food and good friends great way to start the Summer... I'm not going to mention the dog treats or pooh pie, you had to be there!
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"
What perfect timing for this optimistic, uplifting debut novel (and maiden publication of Amy Einhorn's new imprint) set during the nascent civil rights movement in Jackson, Miss., where black women were trusted to raise white children but not to polish the household silver. Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is just home from college in 1962, and, anxious to become a writer, is advised to hone her chops by writing "about what disturbs you." The budding social activist begins to collect the stories of the black women on whom the country club sets relies--and mistrusts--enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who's raised 17 children, and Aibileen's best friend Minny, who's found herself unemployed more than a few times after mouthing off to her white employers. The book Skeeter puts together based on their stories is scathing and shocking, bringing pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams. Assured and layered, full of heart and history, this one has bestseller written all over it. "
What perfect timing for this optimistic, uplifting debut novel (and maiden publication of Amy Einhorn's new imprint) set during the nascent civil rights movement in Jackson, Miss., where black women were trusted to raise white children but not to polish the household silver. Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is just home from college in 1962, and, anxious to become a writer, is advised to hone her chops by writing "about what disturbs you." The budding social activist begins to collect the stories of the black women on whom the country club sets relies--and mistrusts--enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who's raised 17 children, and Aibileen's best friend Minny, who's found herself unemployed more than a few times after mouthing off to her white employers. The book Skeeter puts together based on their stories is scathing and shocking, bringing pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams. Assured and layered, full of heart and history, this one has bestseller written all over it. "
Sunday
May Meeting
I have been most tardy in adding commentary from our meetings. I looked at the blog and realized the last time I updated the meeting notes was in January. I will attempt to make this a regular habit but quite often life gets in the way.
For the month of May we met at Betsy's house and discussed Deborah's pick 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith. Only a few members actually finished the book but most everyone read enough to join in the discussion. The book is set in Edinburgh and follows the happenings of a variety of interesting characters. It was originally published in the daily paper The Scotsman in segments. The author was inspired by Armistead Maupin's serialised novel Tales of the City.
For the month of May we met at Betsy's house and discussed Deborah's pick 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith. Only a few members actually finished the book but most everyone read enough to join in the discussion. The book is set in Edinburgh and follows the happenings of a variety of interesting characters. It was originally published in the daily paper The Scotsman in segments. The author was inspired by Armistead Maupin's serialised novel Tales of the City. As a group most felt it was a easy read, enjoyable but didn't have a lot of depth. Not a lot happens in the book. It is more a humorist look at life. Jane compared it to Seinfeld... A book about nothing. Lot's of interesting vignettes. We discussed the characters and the fact that a lot of the happenings are never referred to again or even explained. The book did include some food references but very few of our food items came from the book. Rory made the mushroom risotto that Domenica makes for Pat in the beginning. We had several yummy salads, chocolate dipped strawberries and cheesecake. I did a coffee tasting for the group in honor of the Big Lou's coffee bar.
As usual the conversation got of track by the end of the evening and we were entertained by Annette's story involving canned pork-and -beans and breast. (you had to be there.) A few of us are now wishing we were part of the Gustine Reunion planning committee just so we could witness the Olympic games.
Next month it is Lori's pick. She recommending The Help months ago and we finally decided to not wait for the paperback to arrive.
We have our next 3 books chosen so that folks can read up over the summer. We are skipping July due to the number of vacations and moving right to August. Jane is hosting the August meeting with a book that Linda actually recommended at the first gathering, the Forgotten Garden. Kitty is hosting the September choice. I'm not sure who to credit the recommendation to. It is the Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman. This is the book that brought Suzi, Jane and myself together over ice cream at Leatherbees and formed the idea of the Book club. Then in October is Suzi's choice of The Graveyard book.
I can't wait for the food from The Help. Good ole Southern fare.
Read on
Beth
Wednesday
May, 2010
Our book for the month of May is 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith, the beloved author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and many more novels. Check out his website for up to date information.
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/mccallsmith/main.php
Sunday
March 27, 2010
the Little Giant of Aberdeen County
by Tiffany Baker
"...the kind of book you find yourself stealing time from workday chores to read."
USA Today
"Baker enters Alice Hoffman territory in this parable about beauty and ugliness, meanness and mercy and magic...."
The Hartford Courant
"This fun, folkloric story is part Ugly Duckling, part Tim Burton's Big Fish...For anyone looking to vanquish the cruel realities of the real world, this one's for you."
Marie Claire Magazine
Tiffany Baker website to read about the author
http://www.tiffanybaker.com/news.html
by Tiffany Baker
Book group selection for April
"...the kind of book you find yourself stealing time from workday chores to read."
USA Today
"Baker enters Alice Hoffman territory in this parable about beauty and ugliness, meanness and mercy and magic...."
The Hartford Courant
"This fun, folkloric story is part Ugly Duckling, part Tim Burton's Big Fish...For anyone looking to vanquish the cruel realities of the real world, this one's for you."
Marie Claire Magazine
Tiffany Baker website to read about the author
http://www.tiffanybaker.com/news.html
March, 2010
by Dennis Lehane
Book club choice for March
check out website link for more info
http://www.dennislehanebooks.com/books/givenday/index.html
Wednesday
February Book Club choice
The House at Sugar Beach-in search of a lost African Childhood
by Helene Cooper
Check out the video link and hear the author talk about the
book in her own words.
http://www.simonandschuster.com/multimedia?video=27812683001
by Helene Cooper
Check out the video link and hear the author talk about the
book in her own words.
http://www.simonandschuster.com/multimedia?video=27812683001
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