December 2010 Bookers Minutes - Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky

                               “Walk in my shoes before casting the first stone.”

37 (another record) attended the annual holiday party at the home of Daryl Daniels, which was beautifully decked out in the spirit of the season.  Bookers might consider writing a cookbook as the food and beverages were again yummy!  Thanks to food czar, Bonnie Magee, for coordinating this for us. 

MN’s sister, Dianne, was our special guest and hopefully she enjoyed the camaraderie of our group.  She “reads by osmosis” listening to her sisters go on and on about books and we thank her for being such a trooper amongst the book lovers.  Last month, MN was not able to attend our regular meeting as she was tending to the business of rebuilding their beach house after fire destroyed it in September.  Patsy and Patty reviewed the book Broken For You, and in the process, we created a mosaic cross to be presented to her at this meeting.

To MN:  “In the review of Broken For You when a Booker made a comment about a character in the book, she placed a tile to created a mosaic as depicted in the story.  After losing your home to the fire, we want to gather around you to give support and hope.  This mosaic cross represents our friendship and love.  We appreciate all you have done for us in Bookers and pray for the rebuilding of your life and home.”

Love,

Bookers

We decided an appropriate warm-up for our party/meeting would be to join voices and sing a few Christmas carols.  Melba and Leslie agreed to lead us in song and we appreciate their willingness to participate.  Unfortunately, we might have packed too much into the “program,” so we only had time to sing one song.  We apologize for having to cut this part short, but our reviewer had been waiting patiently in the wings for quite a while.  It was worth it as we were treated to “vintage Bernie’s special touches.”

Bernie donned several hats in her presentation of this book to our group.  Her first voice, seventeen year old, Lily told us she desperately needed someone to talk to – someone to listen to her.  “I’m a high school senior with awesome grades and my mother is the principal of the school, and I’m pregnant and it wasn’t an accident…I know that look, but let me explain…my closest friends and I made a pact to get pregnant…I don’t even have a boyfriend, but I “recruited” a neighborhood friend, but I don’t want him in our lives…we just want babies…something of our own.”  When the pact was revealed, the “town went crazy, and the media attention was coming from everywhere…life would never be the same.”

Susan, Lily’s mother and high school principal took the floor next.  “Where do I begin…Lily is the perfect daughter – she is a good student, popular and responsible.  I wanted her to have an easier path than I had.  I was horrified when I found out about her pregnancy, much less the pact between the best friends.  I struggled not only with the fact that Lily was going to be a mother, but with questions like, whose responsibility is it to prevent this type of thing…the parents, schools, church, the media?  Did I fail as a Mom?”

Bernie, the reviewer, was next.  “I thought it was an easy read, loved the title, but was disappointed in the lack of development of the mother/daughter relationships.  I was waiting for that big ta-da moment and it never came.  I understood the characters but didn’t connect with them emotionally.  If the ‘dying wool’ segments were a metaphor for the novel, I didn’t get it.  The ending was all tied up in a neat package, a happy-ever-after conclusion to an unlikely story.”

Bernie, the reader, asked, “ What do you think?”  The group responded with a burst of applause for a job well done…she is the consummate professional and a dear member of our group.

As always, our book selections bring to the forefront, the back-story of our own lives as was the case with this novel.  It hit pretty close to home for a couple of our members, bringing to light how an unplanned pregnancy changes your whole life and wonderment if subconsciously this provided an escape from their relationship with their own mothers.  We talked about the unlikelihood that these bright, college-bound teens would be stereotypical of  “pact behavior.”  They chose to end their childhoods by forcing themselves into adulthood, but within the confines of their parent’s safety net - an example of having your cake and eating it too.  They thought it would be “fun” to have something of their own…how about a cat?  We discussed the study of how the frontal lobe of the brain in teenagers is not fully developed until later in their teens, whereby an idea is formed, but it doesn’t connect with the consequence.  The book focused on relationships, moral issues, family values and the making of a good mother, described as one who is vigilant, trusting, teaches right from wrong and then takes off the training wheels, provides structure, a schedule, and above all, unconditional love.  The mothers in this book questioned their culpability in the situation, wondering if they had parented wrong.  There was some anger expressed about how Ms. Delinsky acted irresponsibly in writing such a book…remember it was ripped from the headlines, like a Law & Order story, and it did accomplish the very thing that identifies Bookers – did it promote discussion – the answer is, yes it did.  We strive to bring variety in our reading choices and understand each selection will have its critics and supporters, but it is important to judge the book on its merits and continue to respect the process by which we choose what to read as a group.

On The Business Side:

We are always looking for ways to improve Bookers and are considering a couple of options for next year.  Please think about these suggestions (and feel free to offer your own to the mix) and we’ll discuss them soon.  We could have a nighttime holiday party celebrating the season but not have a specific book to read and review…maybe just talk about your favorite Bookers’ book and why it is special to you.  Or, we could have a regular Bookers meeting with a book and review and add a separate holiday party.  I think we all enjoy getting together during the holidays, but the current format seems to be getting a little difficult to manage with the food and beverages, business, book review and discussion.  Let us know your thoughts…as usual; we are a work in progress.

Bonnie Magee reported hearing on several occasions that an individual would like to contribute and host a meeting, but either lived outside the Pinnacle, or felt their home was too small to accommodate our ever-growing group.  She suggested pairing up – one would provide the home and the other would take care of the coffee and beverages, sharing set up and clean up duties.  We all think this is an excellent idea and a solution to the problem.  Please keep this in mind when we are in need of a “host” home.

Jane Freer has located Clan of the Cave Bear at a used bookstore in Seven Points and has offered to take orders and purchase them.  They are $3.00 and please contact her if you are interested in this arrangement.

Generally we discourage moving our meeting dates, but it is possible that both MN and I will be gone during the second Tuesday in March.  Due to Spring Break and other travel plans, many of us will not be able to attend the meeting on the 8^th so we voted to move it to the first Tuesday in March instead.  Please mark your calendars for March 1^st instead of the 8^th.

Bookers-online.blogspot.com is rocking right along.  We have six followers and our total revenues have reached $50.00 – our percentage is now about $2.00…nibble, nibble!  Thanks to everyone who has ordered books through the site.  Beth Hoffman, author of Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt, found us and posted a wonderful note in response to our review of her book…the sky is the limit!

While I was in the company of my hero, Pat Conroy, as he addressed the Arts & Letters Series at the Dallas Museum of Art recently, MN was among 250 ladies all dressed in tiaras and donning pageant sashes paying homage to her favorite, Fannie Flagg.  It would be impossible to tell who had more fun!

Dale Molander, husband of Sandy, was at our table at the philanthropy luncheon and, of course, Bookers came up.  He has recommended, Outcasts United, a non-fiction account of a settlement center located near Atlanta for refuge families from war zones in Africa and the Middle East.  Stay tuned – it might be our selection for March.  We’ll keep you posted. 

I’m about 250 pages (1/2 way) into Cutting for Stone and love the story, but getting bogged down in the medical and cultural terminology.  Admittedly, I find myself skipping chunks of the novel, but since I’m not finished, the jury is still out on a recommendation.

Color code rating system:

                                                WHITE:         Light read

                                                PINK:              Moderately Challenging

                                                RED:                Challenging

January 11^th, 2011:               The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

                                                PINK

                                                Recommended by Pat Faherty, Patty Evans, & MN

                                                Home of Bonnie Magee

                                                Reviewer: Pat Faherty                                                 

February 8^th:                             The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

                                                RED

                                                Recommended by MN, Cherry Fugitt, Jane Freer   

                                                Home of Jean Alexander

                                                Reviewer: TBA

MARCH 1^ST                         NOTE CHANGE OF DATE

                                                Book TBA

                                                Home of Jane Freer

April 12^th:                                 Room by Emma Donoghue

                                                PINK

                                                Recommended by MN & JoDee

                                                Home: TBA

                                                Reviewers: MN & JoDee

                                   

                       

May 10^th:                                 4^th annual Wine & Cheese Evening Meeting

                                                Still Alice by Lisa Genova

                                                PINK

                                                Recommended by Kim Hand, MN, & JoDee

                                                Home: TBA

                                                Reviewer: TBA

                                                Bonnie Magee, food czar

Happy Reading,

JoDee

Bookers Book Selection - April, 2010

Bookers has selected Room by Emma Donoghue for April 2010.  Narrated through the voice of a five year old boy whose entire world is confined to one room - it is where he was born - it is where he learned to read - it is where he eats, sleeps, and plays. 

Dallas Museum Of Art welcomes Pat Conroy

It was an awe moment when writer extraordinaire, Pat Conroy, took center stage at the Dallas Museum of Art on November 16th, 2010. To be in the presence of someone with his talent was inspirational, to say the least.  As he began his presentation, the sell-out crowd hushed as not to miss one word, and it became keenly obvious his style mirrored his written word in its ease of delivery.  He is a regular guy, but a master storyteller with a mischievous sense of humor. He invited us along for the tale of his incredible journey while he reverently spoke of those individuals who were responsible for letting the rest of the world in on his incredible talent. 

Shortly after graduating from the Citadel he wrote and self-published his first book, The Boo, which he says "is the worst piece of writing ever." He looked in the yellow pages under "publishing" and found an advertisement listing invitations,brochures, and books. $5,000.00 got him 1,000 books and the title of a published author - the trip began.  The Water is Wide was next - a memoir about his experiences teaching the "children the world had forgotten."  The Great Santini featured an abusive father, Bull Meecham; the epitome of a Marine officer demanding perfection from his oldest son while teaching him winning is everything regardless of how it is done...he wrote about what he lived.  The Lords of Discipline was set in another military institution in Charleston.  The Prince of Tides followed the story of Tom Wingo and his twin sister, Savannah set both in New York and the low-country of South Carolina. Beach Music (my all-time favorite) took us from South Carolina to Rome and reached into the "terrors of the Holocaust" with his character, Jack McCall.  It took seventeen years before South of Broad was published - again set in Charleston following  a tightly knitted group of high school friends throughout their lives. My Reading Life leads us through the maze of his life with particular emphasis on how reading literally saved him.  His mother introduced the world to Pat through reading and groomed him to be a "southern writer."  I think she must have been very proud!  Due out next fall is The Death of Santini which he says will chronicle the reincarnation of his father.

Mr. Conroy's literature and florid style of writing allows us to absorb his surroundings, make friends and enemies with the unforgettable characters, and witness first-hand the creativeness of his mind.  He said, " I have no imagination - between South Carolina and my family I will never run out of  material."  Makes you want to go out and find a loony-toon or two and move to the DEEP South.  Maybe then I could write one sentence with as much passion and descriptive prose as my idol, Pat Conroy.  Wish me luck.

JoDee

November 2010 Bookers Minutes

         Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
Trust and an open heart are the keys necessary to repair a broken soul.

19 Bookers met on Tuesday, November 9th ironically marking the 72^nd anniversary of Kristallnacht, ‘the night of broken glass,’ when the Nazis and their sympathizers in Germany and Austria engaged in attacks on Jews and their property.  How fitting our book selection, Stephanie Kallos’ Broken For You, built her debut novel around this theme.

Melanie Prebis opened her beautiful home to us and we welcomed back Lee McFarlane who was able to join us this month.  Our group has some very creative members who often provide visual demonstrations to enhance the review of the book.  Our two Peas in a Pod, Patsy and Patty, did not disappoint and we all appreciate your efforts to bring this book to life for us, especially since you both have a lot on your own plates!  And, speaking of visuals, those of us in attendance were witness to the persona of the resident boxer taking center stage performing a “stimulating” floor belly-dragging dance…you had to be there.

Adorning the coffee table were two wooden crosses and bags of broken tiles, stones, and beads in a variety of colors.  Each character in the book was identified by a color, i.e…Margaret… rust, Wanda…white, MJ Striker & Gina…brown, Irma…turquoise, Troy, Gus, Peter, Susan & Bruce…tan, Stephen & Daniel…gold, Margaret’s mother, Cassandra, and father, Papa O…beggar beads.  Patsy provided a summary of the book followed by Patty with a series of discussion questions.  As the characters were identified, a corresponding tile or bead was placed on the crosses. 

This novel is littered with characters whose plight in life, whether of their own volition or not, was shattered into pieces.  The lifelong searches to put “humpty dumpty back together again” evolved into an unlikely family-by-proxy serving to heal their emotional and physical lives.  The baggage each one brought to the table was taxing, but remarkably, they repaired the damages and completed their mosaics.  By placing the pieces in the proper place, the adhesive that bonded them together and the grout that gave them definition proved to be the right formula for a fulfilled life.

Living and breathing tesserae, seventy-five year old Margaret Hughes, weathered a childhood that “began happily ever after, but didn’t end that way.”  A doting father, who unbeknownst to her, profited from the sins of others, and a mother she viewed as “an ice queen,” dominated her early years.  Adulthood was not kinder as she suffered the tragedy of losing a child in an automobile accident at the hands of her husband.  Despair and guilt drove her to a solitary life of sacristan, communicating only with her massive collection of stolen treasures.  However, when Margaret was confronted with her impending demise, she reached out to work on the relationships in her life – she faced fear with courage and determination, and systematically broke what was haunting her. 

Wanda O’Casey Shultz arrived into Margaret’s world with a broken heart and spirit – abandoned as a child by her parents and obsessed with tracking down the boyfriend that dumped her, literally landed inside a broken body, physically joining the emotional pieces residing inside her psyche.

The remainder of the cast of “thousands” all suffered the same affliction – a life spent focusing on an endless search for what they deemed necessary to complete themselves.  In the end, the creation of mosaics pieced together their disjointed lives and revealed what they were looking for existed within those who loved them.

The more practical members of our group questioned the need to destroy all the treasures.  Why not just sell them and give the profits to designated charities?  Margaret answered that question in her own mind when she realized “bodies had been shattered…but things had not.”  “Purging anger” defines a highly successful method used in grief counseling…the theory being that an object represents your life and by destroying it, you then are able to rebuild it.  Each object in Margaret’s possession was given a voice – each had a story, each one broken in remembrance.  “Tikkun Olam” in Hebrew means repair the world serving as “the narrative catalyst of the book – one of redemption.”

The majority agreed Margaret was unaware until later that she was piecing together a family mosaic with all of the participants of the Crazy Plate Academy.  We talked about the tragedy of feeling “invisible” as isolation breeds hopelessness; whether or not Wanda was really searching for her father instead of Peter and how ironic it was (or was it?) that both men sported long gray ponytails; how Wanda was comfortable with both her father and Troy because “they can be with her and be silent” – was that because the silent ones are generally the good listeners?

There were some confusing segments of this multi-layered book, one of which was the significance of the two figurines Margaret’s father brought to her when she was just four years old – one was very colorful, a shepherdess dressed in a costume exactly like her outfit, the second one “all white, because the clay in this one is so pure, so rare, so magnificent that it requires nothing else…just form and light.”  One was the original, the other a copy – “remember how important it is to recognize purity – recognize it and prize it.  Papa O will not always be here to tell you what is pure and what is the copy.”  Years later Margaret thought the “most obvious and important thing (about this memory) is the way her father had costumed her – not as the original, but as the object of lesser worth.”  Hmmmm…what was he telling her?

The question was asked, what does the YOU in the title of the book mean…who is YOU?  The Jewish people is the obvious answer, but consider this…the author used second person (you) in several parts of the book as opposed to the more common usages of I (first person) and she (third person.)  This technique puts the reader (you) literally in the role of the narrator...maybe YOU is all of us in need of mending.

Magical realism was used in Margaret’s three dream sequences where the author blended magical elements into a realistic atmosphere in order to access a deeper understanding of reality.  Her dreams always began with a journey and ended with Margaret sobbing with the exception of the last one – she had reconciled her life, was content with her relationships, and was happily being steered towards heaven by her mother.  Ms. Kallos tells us to “look at what you value, what you hold dear, objects first not because of their innate value, but because of they are endowed by your mind, imagination, memories – by sentimental value.  Then look at the faces and bodies of those you love – each one a living fossilized record – their experiences is what renders them beautiful.”

Those of you who either had not read the book or had not finished it were lost at times during the discussion…some of you who read it in its entirety felt the same way, but overall, the selection proved a worthwhile and challenging addition to our list of books

Business:

Jean Auel’s sixth and final book of the “Earth’s Children” series, The Land of Painted Caves may not be the end.  Reportedly, she is not through with the characters so there might be more to come.

I am going to the Arts & Letters series at the Dallas Museum of Art on Tuesday to hear my favorite author, Pat Conroy, speak.  Think I should ask him…what were you thinking with South of Broad?

We are considering several books you have recommended for the upcoming months, Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, Room by Emma Donoghue and Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler.  We’ll keep you posted.

Color code rating system:

                                                WHITE:            Light read

                                                PINK:              Moderately Challenging

                                                RED:                Challenging

December 14^th:                       Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky

                                                WHITE

January 11^th, 2011:                 The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

                                                PINK                                      

February 8^th:                           The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

                                                RED

                                               

In the author’s acknowledgments, she thanked Deborah Frockt for “illuminating the real reason behind the glass-breaking at the end of a Jewish wedding!”  At the conclusion of the book (page 366) we are treated to the different views of this tradition as follows:  “Technically…it is supposed to remind us of the desecration of the Temple…however, feminists insist that it symbolizes the breaking of the hymen on the couple’s wedding night…personally, I think it’s just another one of those Jewish guilt things, I mean, God forbid there should be one day in your life when you’re happy!  God forbid we shouldn’t be suffering!  It’s supposed to remind us happiness is transient.”  The book has been described as a dance of friendship, a novel of redemption, a formula to repair what is broken, a story of creating family in the most unlikely places, but maybe the simple statement…happiness is transient…is at the core of this novel…what do you think?

Happy Reading

JoDee

                                                                                               

October 2010 Bookers Minutes

Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

“Friends cherish the good and pretend not to notice the harmless rest.”

Hi, I’m Cecelia Rose Honeycutt, but everyone calls me CeeCee.  I can’t tell you how surprised I was to discover the sweet Deep South is alive and well in East Texas!  Another chapter of my Life Book was opened when I was greeted with a ‘How-de-do’ from the likes of Susie Johnson dressed up as my favorite Aunt Tootie!  To beat all, she was planted next to a group of magnolia branches adorning a well-worn card table with Aunt Lu’s and Rosa’s brown-bag sack lunches ready for the parking lot picnic to begin.  An authentic parking meter registering “expired” anchored the scene, resting alongside a grouping of hatboxes.  Savannah in Malakoff!  (Special thanks to Antiques on Royall for loaning us the parking meter!)

A group of nice ladies, 15 in all, were meeting at the home of Sandy Molander, a self-professed “northern, liberal, city girl” to talk about my story and to gain certain pearls of wisdom to live by, such as…“age is inevitable, but if you nurture a childlike heart, you will never get old….what we believe about ourselves is what determines how others see us…there is a blessing in everything if we open our eyes….find your fire – the one thing that brings out your passion…and most importantly, find yourself a “purple-velvet-sofa kind of girlfriend.”

The surprises just kept on coming when I opened the door to find Cherry Fugitt dressed as my Momma with her signature “Vidalia Onion Queen” sash and sparkling tiara.  You might remember my Momma’s name was Camille, a true testimony to those beautiful camellias inability to survive north of the Mason-Dixon line!!  The reviewer, Lois Welch, in the character of my dear friend, Oletta Jones, adeptly walked the group through Ms. Hoffman’s portrayal of my life with sensitivity, humor, and thoroughness.  In her words: 

**************************************************************

                                              

Twelve year old Cecelia Honeycutt, or CeeCee as she is known, has a psychotic momma.  Her momma, Camille, is a still-beautiful 33 year old woman with a heart-shaped face, brown hair and blue eyes.  She loves CeeCee, but she has been losing her grip on reality for several years and has become the laughingstock of an entire town.  Though it’s 1967 and they live in Ohio, Camille believes it is 1951 and she’s just been crowned the Vidalia Onion Queen of Georgia.    The day CeeCee discovers her momma in the front yard wearing a tattered prom dress and tiara as she blows kisses to passing motorists; she knows her momma has completely flipped. 

CeeCee’s father, Carl, has been able to ignore the problems at home by spending more and more time away on business, leaving CeeCee to manage alone.  Because she has a weird mother, none of the school children will sit with CeeCee in the lunchroom.  With no school friends, she spends most of her spare time reading Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie mysteries.

 

Gertrude Odell, the white-haired next door neighbor, is CeeCee’s one friend.  At 8 o’clock Mrs. Odell turns on her porch light, signifying she is ready for CeeCee’s visit.  They share a love for gardening and build a cheerful and loving relationship.  Mrs. Odell tells CeeCee “When we’re born, the Good Lord gives each of us a Life Book.  Chapter by chapter, we live and learn.  It’s not a book you can see or touch.  It is a book that’s held deep within your heart.  It’s guarded by your spirit.  When a chapter of your Life Book is complete, your spirit knows it’s time to turn the page so a new chapter can begin.  Even when you’re scared or think you’re not ready, your spirit knows you are”.

Tragedy strikes when Camille is accidently run over and killed by the Happy Cow Ice Cream truck.  Tootie Caldwell, a previously unknown great-aunt comes to CeeCee’s rescue and whisks her away to Savannah. Within hours of her arrival, CeeCee is catapulted into a perfumed world of prosperity and Southern charm—a world that appears to be run entirely by women.

Aunt Tootie’s home is stucco, built in 1858, and painted the color of lemonade.  It has three stories, lots of arched windows and is surrounded by lush gardens and an iron fence.  Aunt Tootie, whose given name is Tallulah, is a widow and spends much of her time socializing with the Savannah Garden Club, wearing the club’s traditional straw hat with yellow ribbon.  But Aunt Tootie’s ‘fire’ is helping the Historic Savannah Foundation save historic old homes from the wrecking ball.  

 

Aunt Tootie, and her cook, Oletta Jones, welcome CeeCee into their lives with open arms, warmth and wisdom.   Oletta is tall, thickly built with skin as smooth and brown as a chestnut.  A scarf surrounds her head and she wears a white apron over a gray dress.  She was married to Henry for six years, until he was mule-kicked.  Their daughter, Jewel, died of Meningitis at the age of 13. 

Oletta has spunk!  Many years ago, Oletta won her job as cook for the Caldwell household by using the direct approach.  When she read in the paper that Mrs. Caldwell needed a cook, she rang their door bell holding a platter of her delicious fried chicken.  Taylor, Aunt Tootie’s husband, stood in the foyer and tasted it, then hollered “Tootie, your new cook is here!”  Oletta has become a much-loved addition to the household.

The very day that CeeCee arrives in Savannah, CeeCee meets two of the neighbors, Thelma Goodpepper and Violene Hobbs.  Miz Goodpepper has perfectly manicured hands, remnants of a mysterious beauty, porcelain white skin, red hair pinned high and is wearing a silk caftan when CeeCee meets her.  In the evening, Miz Goodpepper’s secret pleasure is to bathe in a claw-footed tub set in her back yard.

Miz Hobbs on the other hand, is a big-busted, loud-mouthed widow who is short and pudgy, has teased up blond hair and wears tight clothes.  Miz Goodpepper does not like Miz Hobbs because she has cut down the magnolia tree standing between their two homes.  Miz Goodpepper tells CeeCee that Miz Hobbs has created “bad karma” for murdering that tree in cold blood.  One evening, when Miz Goodpepper is showing CeeCee how to use a rubber pancake turner to fling slugs onto Miz Hobbs’ back porch and patio, they spot Miz Hobbs on the porch giving a strip tease for her special friend, a local policeman.  Whoops!  Miz Hobbs slips on a slug, cracks her head open and must be taken to the hospital.  CeeCee says, “When Miz Hobbs slipped on the slug and hit her head, was that kinda like the black boomerang of karma?”

CeeCee finds Miz Hobbs’ bra under the back porch and decides it should become a “traveling bra”.  She goes to historic and staid locations around Savannah, posing the bra for pictures on statues, benches and shrubs.  When Oletta finds these pictures, she gleefully mails them to Miz Hobbs.

The spat between these two neighbors continues until one day when Aunt Tootie has a garden party for her Savannah Garden Club and friends.  Miz Goodpepper and Miz Hobbs get into a wild wrestling match which is the high-light of the afternoon.  The battle ends in a draw but seems to relieve their pent-up anger, thus ending their war.

When Miz Odell sells her house in Ohio, she comes to Savannah for a visit.  This visit turns into an invitation to stay and live with them in Savannah, thus bringing together under one roof the three women that CeeCee loves the best.

On a trip into the country with Aunt Tootie, CeeCee notices a mother with young child which causes her to remember the good times she had with her momma when she was very young.  Until this moment, CeeCee has been unable to grieve for her momma because she was angry, hurt and confused by all that had happened.  But now, the dam breaks, letting out a flood of grief.  CeeCee faints and is placed under a doctor’s care for several days before she can recover. 

Aunt Tootie tells her “The human mind is an amazing thing.  It protects us when we can’t protect ourselves.  Sometimes when we’re holding pain and it gets to be too heavy or goes too deep, we have to give in to it, let it knock us over and pull us all the way down.  Once we hit bottom, we rest in a quiet place for a while.  Then, when the pain eases and we’re ready to face the world again, we come right back up.”

CeeCee realizes, “I’d been ashamed of Momma for so long that any good memories had been distorted and smudged by her illness.  I’d forgotten how much fun she was when I was real little”. 

Oletta gives counsel to CeeCee: “Take the gift Miz Tootie is givin’ you and hold it tight.  Don’t go wastin’ all them bright tomorrows you ain’t even seen by hangin’ on to what happened yesterday.  Let go, child.  Just breathe out and let go.”

“You’re so wise, Oletta”, says CeeCee.

Oletta continues, “People is wise 'cause they get out in the world and live.  Wisdom comes from experience - from knowin’ each day is a gift and accepting it with gladness.  You read a whole lot of books, and readin’ sure has made you smart, but ain’t no book in the world gonna make you wise.” 

By the end of the summer, CeeCee’s heart has been mended, making room for her first school friend, Dixie Lee McAllister.  It is Aunt Tootie’s warmth and generosity and Oletta’s strength and tenderness that allow CeeCee to regain her balance and charge off into her new life with joy and self confidence.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is sometimes sad, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt.  The characters are memorable, and the descriptions of CeeCee’s surroundings are vivid.  It is a story of a magical world of friendships among wise and strong women.  To me, it was a bit like reading a play, with each scene separate and complete unto itself; an enjoyable read. 

******************************************************

Lois aka Oletta did a great job don’t you think!  I must say I was confused as to why these ladies needed “warming up” before they talked about me…it was a perfectly lovely day… but their “teacher” asked each one to tell us where they were born, where they grew up, and whether or not these factors affected their lives.  I was amazed at the “confessionals” from the small town girls to the city girls, from places in the north to the south, and from the east to the west.  Their backgrounds were all different, but they agreed – who they are today was shaped by their childhood surroundings.  It was nice…it was like they were all living each other’s stories…like one big happy family, which reminds me, I gotta get back home…I can smell Oletta’s cinnamon rolls from here.  I’ll come back for a visit when I grow up…who knows I might be a famous author by then!

CeeCee

The author, Beth Hoffman, was asked to complete the following sentence: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is about…………………  Her answer was kindness because she believes that “when we make a conscious decision to be kind we open ourselves up to remarkable experiences… and discover the greatest strength of our character."

On the business side:

The owner of Books For Less (113 North Gun Barrel Lane, Gun Barrel, Texas, 903-887-1028) approached MN with a proposal.  She would like Bookers to hold a meeting at her “coffee shop-book store” and offered to purchase our book selections for us.  The group in attendance felt it would jeopardize the intimacy of our group if we met somewhere more public, but they wanted us to check it out further.  MN and I will report what we find out, but it might be something we could do for one of our meetings in the future.  We’ll keep you posted.

Beverly Dossett is reading Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese and highly recommends it as a Bookers’ book.  We are checking it out also, but from Beverly’s glowing report, it sounds like it might be a winner!  Details soon.

In the spirit of Leila Meacham’s Roses, please refer to the following color codes to describe our book selections:

                                                WHITE:        Light read

                                                PINK:             Moderately challenging

                                                RED:              Challenging

                                               

November 9^th                           Broken For You, by Stephanie Kallos                         

                                                RED

                                    Recommended by Patsy Dehn, MN, JoDee

                                                Home: Melanie Prebis

                                                Reviewer: Patsy Dehn & Patty Evans

December 14^th:                        Holiday Party

                                                Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky

                                                WHITE

                                                Recommended by Leslie Mullins, Linda Hoff & MN

                                                Home: Daryl Daniels

                                                Reviewer: Bernie Crudden

January 11^th, 2011                The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

                                                PINK

                                                Recommended by Pat Faherty, Patty Evans, MN

                                                Home: Bonnie Magee

                                                Reviewer: TBA

February 8^th:                             The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

                                                RED

                                                Recommended by MN, Cherry Fugitt, Jane Freer

                                                Home: Jane Freer

                                                Reviewer:  TBA

“The afternoon sun sent fireworks of light sparkling off the hood ornament (named Delilah leading the way for a 20 year old Packard Victoria), a miniature silver angel with open wings and her arms stretched out in front of her, palms forward, as if she were ready to push aside anything that dared get in her way.”  Sometimes it only takes one paragraph to sum up a story.

See ya’ll and be sure to duck if you see the “black boomerang of karma” headed your way.

JoDee