Book Group Spring 2017

Book: Homegoing
Author: Ya'a Gyasi
Meeting: Wednesday, April 19 at Crystel's
Dessert: blueberry pound cake and custard

The history of slavery from it's beginning on the Gold Coast of Africa through the generations of tribes in Africa and those same generations of African Americans in the US to the present. This was a hard read for me. It's one of those books that you know you aught to read but also know the people and images will haunt you. They do.

Book: The Star Side of Bird Hill
Author: Naomi Jackson
Meeting: Wednesday, May 17th at Jane's

Phaedra and Dionne, two sisters living in Brooklyn in the 1980's, are sent by their mother to spend the summer with their grandmother in Barbados. There's a lot of tragedy and a good dose of coming of age that made it feel like a young adult novel. Good story and good discussion, but not a must read.

Book Group Winter 2017

Book: A Spool of Blue Thread
Author: Anne Tyler
Meeting: Wednesday, January, 2017 at Ginny's
Did not attend. Florida Road Trip

Great story of family history and dynamics. I remember reading a review when it first came out and at that time I could not deal with reading about aging parents. I'm glad this was one of our picks. Laughed out loud in places. That doesn't happen often. 

Book: H is for Hawk
Author: Helen Macdonald
Meeting: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at Jennifer S's
Dessert: Chocolate nut bar with ice cream

A more difficult read than usual, this memoir of raising a goshawk as a therapy for grief with a layer of insights into T.H. White's life proved frustrating and not always fun to read. I didn't mind the bloody details of rabbit and pheasant deaths. The sections on White (who unsuccessfully raised a goshawk and who later wrote the King Arthur stories adapted by Disney) were disturbing and I did not like revisiting the grief of a parent's death but I am glad that I read it. Go figure.

Book Group: Sept - Dec, 2016

Book: Make Your Home Among Strangers
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. 

Book Group: July and August 2016

Book: A More Perfect Heaven; How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos
Author: Dava Sobel
Meeting: Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at Crystel's
Dessert: lemon blueberry tart (berries picked that day)

Pretty unanimously disliked in our group with many reading only part of it (me included). As a research project on the life of Copernicus and how his theories came to be published might provide interest to some, but the language of the times and the religious intolerance made it all a bit hard to read. Not a book I'd recommend.

Book: My Accidental Jihad; A Love Story
Author: Krista Bremer
Meeting: Wednesday, August 17, 2016 at Jean's
Dessert: Shortbread tart with homemade vanilla ice cream

From California surf girl to muslim mother. Interesting life choices but had a hard time knowing the man/husband/father. Some of the situations seemed hard to believe: Would they not have talked about where they were staying visiting relatives in Lybia? And that there would be no coffee? I disliked the Christmas put down; too pat. Some good discussion and we can all use more info about other cultures. Two non-fiction books in a row. Probably a first for us.

Book Group: May and June 2016

Book: The Japanese Lover
Author: Isabel Allende
Meeting: Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at Nadine's
Dessert: cheesecake

This was my pick. I have loved Isabel Allende's books. She is a superb storyteller. In this case the story encompassed everything from the Holocaust, to the Japanese internment, to Aids. I enjoyed the story, but felt the content was too predictable with many stereotypes. It seemed like a good pick for May because it was a fast read in a busy month. Not Allende's best.

Book: The Dream Lover
Author: Elizabeth Berg
Meeting: Wednesday, June 16, 2016 at Barbara's
Dessert: fresh berry tart

This is a fictionalized version of the life of George Sand. I got into it and appreciated the insights on the mores of the 1800's, but it got a bit tedious. Her need for lovers became annoying and I kept worrying about her children. But, overall I liked the book and was amazed at her Paris connections.
 

Book Group: March and April 2016

Book: Some Luck
Author: Jane Smiley
Meeting: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 at Ginny's
Dessert: Pumpkin Cognac cheesecake

This is the first book of a 100-year trilogy set in Iowa beginning in 1920. I wanted to like it, but found the beginning tedious (babies thoughts drive me crazy) and I didn't really care for the major characters. But I persevered and found myself getting caught up in the more complex relationships and politics in the later parts of the book. Some in the group will read all three. I think I'll just get a report.

 Book: M Train

Author: Patti Smith
Meeting: Wednesday, May 20, 2016 at Jennifer H's
Dessert: Coffee chocolate cake (in theme with the book)

I read this book on on my camping trip in Utah. The photo below is me reading on the rocks along the Colorado River. Moments later a great blue heron landed next to me and 4 bighorn sheep strolled across the mountainside across the river. It was a magical moment and I think the book helped to make it happen.

I liked the book for many coincidental reasons: she traveled extensively and to exotic places/I traveled to Utah. She turned 66/ I was about to turn 66. I was in the center of an area that moved from the equator to Utah 150 million years ago/ she belonged to the CDC (Continental Drift Club). But she's famous and brave. I'm not!!! I need to read some of her other books.

Book Group: January and February 2016

Book: Everything I Never Told You

Author: Celeste Ng
Meeting: Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at my house
Dessert: Gail Ambrosius chocolates and pistachio ice cream

A mixed-race couple raise three children in a college town in Iowa in the sixties and seventies. The book begins with the death of one of the children and then delves into her life and what people knew and didn't know about it. There is an ongoing exploration of the parents' relationship as well. I found the subject of living your life as an outsider quite relevant and thought provoking. The family relationships are fascinating and tragic.

Book: Lucky Us

Author: Amy Bloom
Meeting: Wednesday, February 17, 2016 at Jennifer S's
Dessert: Chocolate cake and clementine slices

Eva is the main character. She is the glue of the story set mostly in the 40's. Her mother leaves her on the doorstep of her father whose wife has just died; her half-sister/movie star would-be uses her and befriends her; her kind-of nephew needs her; all amid cross country trips, unexpected friendships, Hollywood, New York, orphans, lesbians, immigrants. It's a wild ride and worth it.

Book Group: Oct, Nov, and Dec 2015

Book: Orphan Train
Author: Christina Baker Kline
Meeting: Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at Julie's
Dessert: apple crisp with home-made cinnamon and honey ice cream

Book group is moving to Wednesdays to better accommodate some schedules, including mine. This book was a quick read, interesting story with fun twist at the end. I liked it, but probably not as much as The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty (Book Group pick Nov. 2013) which seemed a more complex story and also featured the orphan trains.

Book: Vanessa and Her Sister
Author: Priya Parma
Meeting: Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at Jean's
Dessert: apple caramel tart with whipped cream

Vanessa Bell was the sister of Virginia Woolf and part of the Bloomsbury group in London. The book reads like a diary and introduces way too many characters. But, by the second half of the book I was fascinated by the story and the relationships and breezed on through it. I am embarrassed to admit that I was not familiar with the prolific art of Vanessa Bell.

Book: Guests on Earth
Author: Lee Smith
Meeting: Wednesday, December 16, 2015 at Jane's
Dessert: sorbet and lemon frosted cookies

Told from the perspective of Evalina a former patient at Highland Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina.This is the mental hospital where Zelda Fitzgerald resided and where she died in a tragic fire. The group seemed to agree that the compelling story really didn't need the Zelda tie. Insulin shock therapy was used in the hospital. I had not been aware of its use. Wow! It was a standard therapy in the field in the 30's and 40's and into the 50's, I think. It has been replaced by drugs. Good read.

Book Group: Summer 2015

Book: The Signature of All Things
Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
Meeting: July 21, 2015 at Nadine's
Dessert: NY Style Cheesecake w cherries

This was my choice based on daughter Heather's recommendation. Women scientists. Funny. For most of this book the term scientist was not in existence. Story centers on Alma Whittaker and her love of mosses. Epic story. I enjoyed reading of her father's adventures with Captain Cook. 500 pages but reads fast. Gilbert is a great storyteller.


Book: China Dolls
Author: Lisa See
Meeting: August 18, 2015 at Barbara's
(I did not attend because of trip to Montreal.)

Grace, Ruby, and Helen; three Asian women thrown together in the Chinese-American nightclub scene of the 1930s and 40s. Takes place mostly in San Francisco's Chinatown. Each has a vastly different background and chapters alternate among the women in their own voice. I had a problem discerning which voice was speaking. Fiction, but based on interviews. Interesting times.

Book: Americanah
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Meeting: September 15, 2015 at Crystel's
Dessert: plum tart and ice cream

I read this book while on the Montreal trip. Nigerian woman immigrates to the United States for school; boyfriend expects to follow her. Years later her blog on race becomes her livelihood. Overall this is a love story, but I appreciated the insights into misconceptions of the African in the US experience as opposed to the African-American experience. Long, but a good summer read.

Book Group: June 2015

Book: The Secret History of Wonder Woman
Author: Jill Lepore
Meeting: June 16, 2015 at Ginny's
Dessert: Raspberry cheesecake with fresh strawberries and blueberries

Don't pick this up for a light summer read. Although the story of the family behind the cartoon character is fascinating and kinky, Lepore's writing is more like a well documented thesis. The links to the suffragist movement in the early 1900s and Margaret Sanger's crusade for birth control kept me interested. I didn't know that Sanger's Birth Control Federation was the name of the organization that became Planned Parenthood. And how does she relate to Wonder Woman? Read the book!

Book Group: April and May 2015

Book: Men We Reaped: A Memoir
Author: Jesmyn Ward
Group meeting: Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at Jennifer S's
Dessert: lemon poppyseed cake, sorbet with raspberries

Book: Brown Girl Dreaming
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Group meeting: Monday, May 11 2015 at Jennifer H's
Dessert: lemon pound cake with lemon sorbet and raspberries








This interesting and non-intentional pairing of books provided another level of discussion in book group. Both are memoirs; both feature intelligent, independent girls; both girls have strong, loving, determined mothers. The first is more contemporary in its content coinciding with the rash of white police officer shootings of young black men. The second is more artistic in its presentation of the early years of the author's life. Woodson's memoir is written as short poems, the words beautifully chosen. The white space allows the reader to stop and reflect. Both are worth reading, Ward's more brutal in the telling.

Book Group: March 2015

Book: The Invention of Wings
Author: Sue Monk Kidd
Group meeting: Tuesday, March 17, 2015 at my house
Dessert: Grasshopper pie (for St. Patrick's Day!)

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd was my book group pick discussed in March. Although not planned, it was the perfect selection for National Women's History Month.

I chose this book after reading an article by Marion Winic (Newsday) in the Wisconsin State Journal in February, 2014. Sue Monk Kidd wrote The Secret Life of Bees, one of my favorite books, so I was sure to want to read this one. But the real draw to The Invention of Wings was that it is a fictional account of the Grimké sisters of South Carolina in the early 19th century. They were in fact the subjects of an historical account written by Gerda Learner and published in 1967: The Grimké Sisters of South Carolina; Rebels Against Slavery. 

Gerda Learner was a professor in the Women's Studies program at the University of Wisconsin. I knew of her and sat in on some of her lectures before she retired. They were the most eye-opening and moving lectures I have ever attended. The class would on occasion applaud the presentation. It was there that I first learned of the Grimkés, their abolitionist activism AND their inadvertent shift to feminist thinking. They pre-date the Seneca Falls Convention and Susan B. Anthony.

And, how did Sue Monk Kidd come to write this book? She saw Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party in 2007 in Brooklyn and noticed the names of Sarah and Angelina Grimké, sisters from Charleston, South Carolina inscribed on tiles on the floor of the exhibit. Kidd lived in Charleston and had never heard of the Grimké sisters. How could that be? She started to do research that included Gerda Learner's primary source research.

I, too, saw The Dinner Party, but I saw it in the mid-1970s. I traveled with other UW Library School students to Chicago to see the very controversial installation. That was a long time ago and I don't remember the names inscribed on the tiles. I do remember the place settings and the incredible feeling of sisterhood and history.

What strikes me as most important and significant about The Invention of Wings and the way it came to be written is that it illustrates that our history is complex and is often pushed aside. Women have done incredible things. But how do we know it? I remember being at a concert by "Sweet Honey in the Rock" in Carnegie Hall (probably in the 80's). I was in awe and feeling a little out of place. At one point they spoke directly to the African Americans in the audience and said: "This is your history. You are not born knowing it. You have to learn it." 

In preparing for book group I gathered The Gerda Learner book on the Grimkes, a couple books on The Dinner Party, a couple African-American quilt books, an African folk tale, and various reviews and articles. I was lead to these sources in part by the author's notes at the end of the book. She very clearly explains her motivations and what is fact and what is fiction in The Invention of Wings.

I thank Sue Monk Kidd for bringing back the story of Sarah and Angelina Grimké and reminding me to keep reading and learning and sharing with others. 

Book Group: Feb 2015

Book: Still Life With Bread Crumbs
Author: Anna Quindlen
Group meeting: Tuesday, Feb 17, 2015 at Jean's
Dessert: Bread pudding with whiskey sauce and pecans. Yum.

60-year-old NYC photographer retreats alone to the woods and falls in love with her roofer, a younger man. I thought I would dislike the book but actually loved it. Quick read, fun characters, and bigger themes than the first sentence suggests: personal expression/style, luxury vs. sparsity, level of caring/help for family, juggling the finances of three generations. Worked for me. Loved the dog! Quindlen is a great storyteller.

Book Group: Dec 2014 and Jan 2015

Book: Stella Bain

Author: Anita Shreve

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014

Place: Julie's

Food: Dinner in honor of Grace's birthday. Smoked salmon dip for appetizer, spanakopita for the meal, and a cake, of course, for dessert. This was a first ever meal for this group. Delicious!

I read Stella Bain as a digital download while in Oaxaca in November. The story of a young volunteer nurse with amnesia near the front lines in France during WWI and her life as it eventually unfolds kept me turning pages. But, it all wraps up a little too neatly in the end for my taste.

Book: We Need New Names

Author: NoViolet Bulawayo

Date: Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015

Place: Jane's

Dessert: chocolate cake with caramel sea salt ice cream

Again, "Not a happy story" (this is a recurring theme of books chosen by this group). Darling (the name of the main character) was born and raised in Zimbabwe and eventually comes to the US. My favorite part of the story is her descriptions of snow and cold. 

From p.152 of the hardbound book: "With all this snow, with the sun not there, with the cold and dreariness, this place doesn't look like my America, doesn't even look real. It's like we are in a terrible story, like we're in the crazy parts of the Bible, there where God is busy punishing people for their sins and is making them miserable with all the weather."

OK, I promised not to whine about the weather, but this was SO Madison in December; not white, but no sun and dreary. Bulawayo has at least 3 other sections devoted to winter in "Destroyedmichygen" where snow is described as sneaky and a monster. I'm glad I read it, but I can't say I enjoyed it. 

Book Group: Sept, Oct, Nov 2014

I did not intend this blog to feature books. I just meant to use the space as a record of what my book group read and how I felt about it. Instead, it drives the posts since it happens each month. To catch up for now:

Book: The Wives of Los Alamos
Author: TaraShea Nesbit
Group meeting: Sept (did not attend; funerals in La Crosse)

Although I found the book compelling, I kept wishing for a singular story. The "we" focus made it inclusive, but less personal. I did hear a comment after the group meeting that some in the group were of that age and this made the history more real. The lives of the families isolated in the desert seemed dreadful to me.

Book: Burial Rites
Author: Hanna Kent
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2014
Place: Ginny's
Dessert: German Chocolate Cake

Not a happy story. Based on a real story of the final beheading of a woman in Iceland in the 1800s. Compelling read, almost like a mystery. I was overwhelmed by the cold and filth and lack of privacy.



Book: I know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Author Maya Angelou
Date: November (will not attend; in Mexico)

I probably won't read this. I listened to a series of essays by Maya Angelou while driving to and from the cabin last summer. This book was picked to honor the passing of Maya Angelou this year. Her life story is poignant and she is an inspiration.

Book Group: May, June, and July 2014

Book: Life After Life

Author: Kate Atkinson

Group meeting: Thursday May 29, 2014

Place: My house

Dessert: Poppyseed cake in honor of Barbara's birthday!

Note to self: write these things more promptly. My memory fades. . .

My overwhelming reaction to this book was that the author couldn't make up her mind and so presented the same scenes over and over with different details and outcomes. Challenging for the reader. Excellent depiction of life in London during the German bombing during WWII. 

NO IMAGE (downloaded book on my iPad)

Book: Someone

Author: Alice McDermott

Group meeting: Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Place: Jean's house

Dessert: Homemade lemon ice cream and shortbread cookies

I found the story tedious. A woman's life in Brooklyn; her family; her loves; her job at the funeral parlor; her children. Well written, but it didn't move me. However, for some in the group it was the "best I've read in 10 years." Really? We are a diverse group in our literary tastes at least.

Book: Boy, Snow, Bird

Author: Helen Oyeyemi

Group meeting: Monday, July 28, 2014

Place: Barbara's

Dessert: blueberry pie with whipped cream (Thelma's crust recipe)

This one is a page-turner. A perfect summer read. Problem was, I read it too fast and had to re-read parts of it again to review before Book Group. A rat catcher who abuses his child; her life after she runs away; mixed race families and a big surprise at the end. A little contrived at times, but I liked it.

Book Group: April 2014

Book: The Burgess Boys

Author: Elizabeth Strout

Group meeting: Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Place: Jane's house

Dessert: Tiramisu

An engaging book that centers on one horrific event and how a family comes to grips with it. There are three siblings: a big shot lawyer and his public defender brother (both living in NYC), and their sister (living in their hometown in Maine). The story is compelling and takes on many issues facing modern society: immigrants (Somali in this case) in a small community, sibling relationships (including twins), the burden of fame, big city anonymity versus small town notoriety, family secrets, marriage and much more. There is lots to discuss. I particularly liked how the author dealt with the bonds of family. These kids didn't really like each other, but they were bound by blood and in each of their own ways watched out for the others. Well, sort of . . .