Author: Jennine Capó Crucet
Meeting: Wednesday, Sept 21, 2016 at Jane's
Dessert: cranberry walnut pie with ice cream (of course)
This was a joy to read. It sucked me in from the start. A Cuban-American girl gets a scholarship to an exclusive liberal arts college in New England. Her struggles at home (near Miami, Florida) and at school made me think about the challenges of first generation college students. She makes mistakes (didn't we all?) but I really like the character (semi-autobiographical) although not everyone in the group did. This is a definite thumbs up for me.
Book: Euphoria
Author: Lily King
Meeting: Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at Jennifer H's
Dessert: apple crisp w/ ice cream
Loosely based on the life of Margaret Mead, this rather fast paced book left me wondering. The group discussed what was real and what was made up, but it leaves me feeling like I'd rather have read a good biography.
Book: Bad Feminist
Author: Roxanne Gay
Meeting: Wednesday, November 16, 2016 at my house
Dessert: purchased cranberry pear tarts from Humble Pie w/ frozen custard
Overall I enjoyed this collection of essays/blog posts that look at women's place in current society from the perspective of a person much younger than me. I had a hard time relating to some of the pop culture references, but a lot of it rings as true as feminism was to me in the 70s.
Book: La Rose
Author: Louise Erdrich
Meeting: Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at Julies
Food: Julie invited the group to come early for seafood stew and home made bread. Cookies for dessert. Delicious.
Louise Erdrich is our group go-to author. When she publishes a new book we read it. No one needs to pick it. La Rose did not disappoint. It's a multi-generational picture of the families surrounding a current day tragedy. An accidental shooting results in a son being given to the grieving family. I feel it is our duty to read American Indian history to understand the complexity of the genocide perpetuated on them. So, the book isn't fun to read, but it is important. I was happy to be immersing myself in the story that takes place so close to the Standing Rock tribe that is protecting their water rights right now.
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