The Locale: Tassy's
The Book:
Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag". In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard.
Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent.
Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76620.Watership_Down
Sarah's Summary:
I’m sorry it has taken me so long to do my follow-up email from Tassy’s meeting. The food and beverage were appropriately fall-themed and delicious. Chicken salad without celery! Salads and apple sangria with prosecco! It was all yummy, right down to the wine cake, that was spicy and moist and oh-so-good. Thanks so much for hosting all of us. Holly, I hope your foot has healed!
We discussed Educated: A Memoir and most of us enjoyed reading it, even if It is always fascinating to me to read stories like this and to think these people really live amongst us!? This woman escaped and lives a “normal” life?! Sorry I don’t have more to report on our discussion- I will try to write these more timely when it’s still on my mind.
We will see each other for dinner next Wednesday, December 5th at +39. It’s an Italian restaurant in Centre Tallahassee, kind of on the John Knox side of things, near the food court. I made the reservation for 6:00. Susan S already alerted me she won’t be there until after 7; if there’s anyone else who will be running late, let us know and we can put an order in for you. There’s a wine bar in the courtyard if anyone wants to meet up after work for a toast before dinner.
We’ll be meeting January 13th at Jolynda’s to discuss Fates & Furies by Lauren Groff. We’ll meet at Brenda’s sometime either in February or early March to read Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship by Michelle Kuo. Susan S. will present her choices at Jolynda’s.
Jana and I joined over 700 people last night to hear author Louise Penny at her book launch for Kingdom of the Blind. She was funny and personable and I can’t wait to read her books!
I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and I look forward to seeing you next week. Feel free to bring books to share!
The Vote: Brenda presented...
- Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship by Michelle Kuo WINS!!
- The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
Up Next: Fates & Furies by Lauren Groff @ Jolynda’s on 1/13
Next to Present: Susan S.
Then:
- Lori
- Gina
- Jana
- Susan H.
- Sarah
- Jessica
- Kristine
- Holly
- Tassy
- Jolynda
The Locale: Holly's
The Book:
Set in England's Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of friends, they journey forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76620.Watership_Down
Sarah's Summary: : ( Susan can't find it. Sorry,
The Vote: Jolynda presented...
- Ghosted: A Novel by Rosie Walsh WINS!!
- Fates and Furies: A Novel by Lauren Groff
- What We Were Promised by Lucy Tan
Up Next: Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover @ Tassy's on 11/04
Next to Present: Brenda
Then:
- Susan S.
- Lori
- Gina
- Jana
- Susan H.
- Sarah
- Jessica
- Kristine
- Holly
- Tassy
- Jolynda
The Locale: Kristine's
The Book:
NOS4A2 is a spine-tingling novel of supernatural suspense from master of horror Joe Hill, the New York Times bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box and Horns.
Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. On her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, she makes her way to a rickety covered bridge that, within moments, takes her wherever she needs to go, whether it’s across Massachusetts or across the country.
Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing – and terrifying – playground of amusements he calls “Christmasland.”
Then, one day, Vic goes looking for trouble—and finds Manx. That was a lifetime ago. Now Vic, the only kid to ever escape Manx’s unmitigated evil, is all grown up and desperate to forget. But Charlie Manx never stopped thinking about Victoria McQueen. He’s on the road again and he’s picked up a new passenger: Vic’s own son.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15729539-nos4a2
Sarah's Summary:
Kristine, thanks for hosting a fun book club meeting this afternoon! The Mexican food bar was amazing. I am still too full to eat dinner and, as I expected, the kids are on their own tonight. And that delicious dessert- Tell Emily thank you! It was really YUMMY.
I think only two or three of us liked the book, several didn’t finish (or even start) it. Tassy is a Stephen King fan and felt nostalgic reading a book by his son. I thought it was fun, yes it was weird and kind of a horror book, but once I got into it I couldn’t put it down. It’s one of those books I would have NEVER read, so thank you!
We are meeting next at Holly’s to read Watership Down on September 23rd.
A nail biter of a vote today! A coin toss decided the next selection with Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover beating out Little Fires Everywhere. We will meet at Tassy’s on November 4th and will vote on Jolynda’s selections then. In December, we’ll go out to eat so Jolynda won’t host until January. This gives us lots of time to read her selection and catch up on our personal reading lists😊
Attached is our updated spreadsheet. I’ve added a “contacts” sheet with everyone’s address so we don’t have to worry about digging up emails to find where we need to go. Hope this helps!
Good luck to our College and Taiwan-bound kids!
Sarah
The Vote: Tassy presented...
- Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover WINS!!
- A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Up Next: Watership Down by Richard Adams @ Holly's on 9/23
Next to Present: Brenda
Then:
- Susan S.
- Lori
- Gina
- Jana
- Susan H.
- Sarah
- Jessica
- Kristine
- Holly
- Tassy
- Jolynda
The Locale: Jessica's
The Book:
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown.
https://kristinhannah.com/books/the-great-alone/
Sarah's Summary:
Thanks for a fun meeting, Jessica! You may serve your chicken and rice any time. Seriously, it’s so good! And the fresh fruit with vanilla ice cream really hit the spot on a hot, humid June day. Not all of us loved the book but many agreed it was a quick page-turner and a perfect summer read. And even though Susan S didn’t love it, it did have that tidy ending! (Susan say's TOO tidy, even for me!)
We will meet at Kristine’s to discuss NOS4A2 on August 19th. Watership Down will be our next book and we’ve tentatively set September 23rd for Holly’s meeting. It’s pretty far off so we’ll see what her Fall schedule looks like before we write it in permanent ink😉
We missed you Kristine, Gina, Jolynda & Tassy. Tassy, please keep us posted on your sister’s progress and know that you and her family are in our prayers.
I hope everyone can make our August meeting. We’ll have COLLEGE KIDS in our fold by then. Why are our kids growing up so fast?!?!
I hope everyone has a fun summer and for those traveling, be safe!
The Vote: Holly presented...
- Watership Down by Richard Adams WINS!!
- I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
- Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Up Next: NOS4A2 by Joe Hill @ Kristine's on 8/19
Next to Present: Tassy
Then:
- Tassy
- Jolynda
- Brenda
- Susan S
- Tassy
- Lori
- Gina
- Jana
- Susan H
- Sarah
- Jessica
- Kristine
- Holly
The Locale: Susan H's
The Book:
No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine.
Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.
But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31434883-eleanor-oliphant-is-completely-fine
Sarah's Summary:
Thanks, Susan, for hosting another successful book club! I was certain we would be served pizza and vodka. 😉 The pasta was delicious and I really enjoyed the sausage rolls, a nod to Scotland. I believe all of us liked getting to know Eleanor; a complicated, hilarious, not so easy-to-love character. There were many times we laughed out loud reading her comments and observations. I think the author did a wonderful job narrating. I loved it!
We next meet at Jessica’s to discuss The Great Alone on June 3rd. Next up, NOS4A2 by Joe Hill. It got 6 votes edging out Killers of the Flower Moon, which got 5. We have tentatively set that meeting date for 19th at Kristine’s house, which gives us plenty of time to read this summer! Holly is next to present her choices and we should look for those about a week out from Kristine’s meeting.
Susan S, you were missed. I don’t think you’ve missed more than a handful in 13 years!!
I hope we all survive the final weeks of school- we have a few kids graduating H.S. this year, which is unbelievable to me as they were wee little munchkins when we started this club.
Happy reading!
The Vote: Kristine presented...
- Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann WINS!!
- Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
- NOS4A2 by Joe Hill WINS!!
Up Next: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah @ Jessica's on 6/3
Next to Present: Holly
Then:
- Tassy
- Jolynda
- Brenda
- Susan S
- Tassy
- Lori
- Gina
- Jana
- Susan H
- Sarah
- Jessica
- Kristine
- Holly
The Locale: Gina's
The Book:
In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.
http://www.katequinnauthor.com/books/the-alice-network/
Sarah's Summary:
Gina, that baked ziti was so darn good. And the chocolate mousse to die for. Thanks for hosting a great meeting- I think we all liked The Alice Network and especially appreciated that while it was about war, it was a much needed, lighter read after Devil in the Grove. It’s always fun to catch up and to hear about your spring break trips and kiddos who are growing up so fast. When we started I had a kid in diapers. Now, some of you are about to send your oldest off to college in the fall. All while we haven’t aged a bit 😉 I’m happy Jana could rejoin our club and can’t wait to read our next book, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. We’ll be discussing that at Susan H’s on May 6th so mark your calendars. We voted on Jessica’s selections and will be reading The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. If I’m not mistaken, we’ve set that date for June 3rd at Jessica’s.
It was brought to my attention that in my reordering of folks on the list to give a little separation between non-fiction leaning people, I inadvertently hopped a few folks. So how does this look for our order? I added Jana and Holly in and moved myself and Jessica around as well. I’ve attached the latest spreadsheet.
The Vote: Jessica presented...
- Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
- The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah WINS!!
- An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Up Next: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman at Susan H’s on May 6th.
Next to Present: Kristine
Then:
- Kristine
- Holly
- Tassy
- Jolynda
- Brenda
- Susan S
- Tassy
- Lori
- Gina
- Jana
- Susan H
- Sarah
- Jessica
- Kristine
The Locale: Sarah's
The Book:
In 1949, Florida’s orange industry was booming, and citrus barons got rich on the backs of cheap Jim Crow labor. To maintain order and profits, they turned to Willis V. McCall, a violent sheriff who ruled Lake County with murderous resolve. When a white seventeen-year-old Groveland girl cried rape, McCall was fast on the trail of four young blacks who dared to envision a future for themselves beyond the citrus groves. By day’s end, the Ku Klux Klan had rolled into town, burning the homes of blacks to the ground and chasing hundreds into the swamps, hell-bent on lynching the young men who came to be known as “the Groveland Boys.”And so began the chain of events that would bring Thurgood Marshall, the man known as “Mr. Civil Rights,” and the most important American lawyer of the twentieth century, into the deadly fray.
http://www.gilbertking.com/devil-in-the-grove/
Sarah's Summary:
Thanks to everyone who came to my house to discuss The Devil in the Grove. Wow. What a heavy, thought provoking book. It’s interesting how many of us felt there should be a second version, one just focusing on the Groveland Boys. There was a lot of information- all certainly important and interesting- which made it a very dense book. It was shocking to read- and heartbreaking.
On to a much more fun, light read, The Alice Network by Kate Quinn will be discussed at Gina’s on March 25th. We voted overwhelmingly to read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman as our April book. Susan can let us know the date when we meet at Gina’s. On deck to present at Susan’s is Jessica, then Kristine.
I hope everyone has a safe, fun and relaxing spring break. See you in a month!
The Vote: Susan presented...
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman WINS!!
Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Up Next: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn @ Gina's on 3/25
Next to Present: Jessica
Then:
- Kristine
- Laura
- Holly
- Jolynda
- Brenda
- Susan S
- Tassy
- Lori
- Gina
- Sarah
- Susan H
The Locale: Lori's
The Book:
Since the days of conquistador Hernán Cortés, rumors have circulated about a lost city of immense wealth hidden somewhere in the Honduran interior, called the White City or the Lost City of the Monkey God. Indigenous tribes speak of ancestors who fled there to escape the Spanish invaders, and they warn that anyone who enters this sacred city will fall ill and die. In 1940, swashbuckling journalist Theodore Morde returned from the rainforest with hundreds of artifacts and an electrifying story of having found the Lost City of the Monkey God-but then committed suicide without revealing its location.
Three quarters of a century later, bestselling author Doug Preston joined a team of scientists on a groundbreaking new quest.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30145126-the-lost-city-of-the-monkey-god
Sarah's Summary:
Another fun book club meeting yesterday at Lori’s to discuss “The Lost City of the Monkey God.” Most of us liked the book, I don’t think anyone hated it, but it was agreed that there was a lot of extraneous information packed into the story. Some of us like that, some of us don’t! I, for one, have no desire to trek into a rain forest full of deadly snakes, howling (mad) monkeys and sand fleas- fascinating. Yuck. But I enjoyed the book and am glad to have read it.
For those of you who couldn’t come, you missed out on an amazing blackberry sangria (please share your recipe) and delicious chicken chili, bean dip, guacamole, cornbread and corn salad And a chocolate cake with chili. YUM. It’s always a feast at Lori’s! We were also treated to a special guest, Lori’s Mom. After the meeting, Lori told us that her dad passed away suddenly a few weeks ago. I’m so very sorry for your loss and wish you luck, love and patience as you help your mom transition to her “new normal.”
Our next meeting will be at my house on February 18 to discuss “Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America” by Gilbert King. We’ll meet at Gina’s possibly on March 25th, depending on her schedule as we get nearer, to discuss “The Alice Network.” Susan H is next to present at my house. On deck is Jessica.
See you all on the 18th!
Up Next: Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Douglas Preston
And then: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn @ Gina's on 3/25
Next to Present: Susan H
Then:
- Jessica
- Kristine
- Laura
- Holly
- Jolynda
- Brenda
- Susan S
- Tassy
- Lori
- Gina
- Sarah
- Susan H
SaveSave
