DECEMBER 2013 BOOKERS MINUTES & MUSINGS, Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

                            

“When you look back at a life, what you see is a path that weaves in and out of deep shadow.”

Arctic temperatures warmed by the sun’s glare escorted another fictional town, New Bremen, Minnesota and its cast of characters into the home of Jean Alexander for Bookers’ Christmas gathering. 28 arrived to celebrate friendships; toast our fellow book lover personas; and bask in the message of a timely novel about a “grace so ordinary there was no reason at all to remember it.” A miracle happened that day of ordinary grace within the sorrow of a family’s tragedy a simple prayer offered in perfect speech was unexplainable but every word, unforgettable.

As “ordinary,” the Alexander’s home rejoiced in the spirit of Christmas. Many thanks to Bonnie Magee for coordinating our fare, to everyone who contributed, and to reader extraordinaire, Jack Stone, for recognizing a Bookers’ book!

Collectively our hearts go out to all who are suffering through personal illness or that of a loved one. Lois and Charlotte, you and your families are in our thoughts and prayers and we hope Kim Hand is on the road to recovery from her recent surgery.

Melba and a few others grew up in a small town similar to New Bremen where everyone knew your name and your business, where life was simpler and more serene, where the clatter of a train was as common as the jangle from the ice cream truck. It was a time baseball came alive on transistor radios, where swimming holes, grape Nehi, drugstores serving ice-cold root beers, board games, model airplanes, and comic books, were staples of everyday life. The telephone was in the hallway, fried bologna sandwiches and cherry Kool-Aid ruled lunch, and Church served the faithful and provided a sanctuary for grieving. Melba, once again, lent her perspective and intuitiveness to the review and we are all thankful for this effort, but mostly, we are thankful for her!

The sixty-three year old author of Ordinary Grace, William Kent Krueger, writes the popular Cork O’Connor mystery series. His third grade teacher praised his flair for writing and by the age of nineteen, he wanted to be Ernest Hemingway. In the course of researching everything “Papa,” he found a couple of things he wanted to incorporate as his own. “Hemingway never wore underwear,” so he thought if it’s good enough for him, he’d try it. He discovered Hemingway “was made of sterner stuff,” so he went back to his Fruit of the Looms. He was able to emulate his favorite time of day to write – “at first light” – much more doable than the commando look. When the idea for Ordinary Grace came to him, he couldn’t ignore it…he wanted to write something that would allow him to revisit the past – a time that was important in his own life. Much of this book is biographical, which explains the moving account of his protagonist’s life – a boy standing at the door of manhood trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. He wrote a novel about “discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God.” His next novel, a sister to this one, is named This Tender Land, set in Black Earth County in 1957, but won’t be out for at least two years. His latest Cork O’Connor novel, Tamarack County, was released in August.

Ordinary Grace, set in the summer of 1961, was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new young President. For the protagonist, thirteen-year old Frank Drum it was a summer filled with death in many forms – an accident, by nature, a suicide, and a murder. The characters, richly developed and diverse include the Drum family: Frank Drum, the narrator who didn’t believe in the “pearly gates version of heaven.” His father, Nathan, is the Methodist minister and his mother, Ruth, the antithesis of a minister’s wife, is full of deep emotion and drama. She has movie star looks and fancies herself as a world famous author like Ayn Rand. When she sang, “she could make a fence post cry.” His younger brother, red-hair and freckled Jake, stuttered in public, idolized his older brother, and was wiser than his years. Eighteen-year old Ariel, their older sister, was Juilliard bound with enviable talent and adored by her family, especially by Ruth as she saw her own dreams fulfilled in her daughter. The well-healed Brandt family gave us a mix of dysfunction between Emil, a blind and physically scarred musical virtuoso, his younger sister, Lise, born deaf and difficult with fits of rage and tantrums, and nephew Karl, who lived a lie that eventually ended in his death. The minor characters filled out the town with a Native American Indian family with an Irish last name and an uncle on the run, a bosomy blonde neighbor and her husband with marital problems, an abusive husband, a friend and fellow military buddy, a vindictive police officer, a stereotypical bully/bad guy who instilled fear just from his demeanor. The novel touched many themes with a religious thread running throughout. It covered secrets, lies, betrayal, handicaps, financial disparities, bullying, murder, suicide, loyalty of friends, family relationships, brothers loving brothers, homosexuality, grief and hope, truth, and consequences.

Our discussion focused on how this book struck a chord – as if it was a chapter taken out of personal lives; how the author brought to our attention the significance of his phrasings, like “pain dripping on the heart or her fingers shaped the music every bit as magnificently as God shaped the wings of a butterfly.” We talked about the relationship between Nathan and Ruth, how each handled the grief thrust on their family; how Ruth had her dreams killed twice, once when she became a minister’s wife, the other with the death of her daughter. We shared our thoughts on the sermon Nathan delivered for Ariel and how Frank so profoundly awakened by the words because they echoed his own beliefs, prompted him to let his brother know the depth of his feelings for him. We spoke of how we’re all angels to someone in a time of crisis and how deep faith in a power greater than ourselves is essential to reconciling tragedy. The title of the book is so poignant because a miracle arrived in the steady voice of a young man who conquered fear, and a mother returned to her family.

                                       On the Business Side: 

                                       Book Talk

As a recap, the following is the rating system MN and I have assigned to OUR opinions of books we’ve read. Again, this is meant to be a guideline only.

5 Stars:                  Order Now. Expedited shipping worthy. Include in your will.

4 Stars:                  Borders on Little Bee

3 Stars:                  Beach Read

2 Stars:                  Borrow don’t buy

1 Star:                   Put your money back in the piggy bank

We’re still searching for a good read for April. We’ll offer 4 for votes next month. I’ve finished Don’t Let Me Go by Katherine Ryan Hyde and agree with MN’s rating of (4+) – I loved it! The Unexpected Son by Shobhan Bantwal, is set in New Jersey, when one morning a letter arrives from India turning the protagonist’s comfortable world upside down – her illegitimate son, who she believed stillborn, is alive and in need of a bone marrow transplant. As I read, I kept comparing this tale to our January 2008 pick by Thrity Umrigar, The Space Between Us. Both are female Indian authors who transport us to their native land, exploring Indian culture and the disparities of their caste system.The difference I found was in the writing…favoring Umrigar’s style over Bantwal. It’s an easy to read, makes you ask what would I do, is informative, and has a happy ending, although not tied up in a neat package. (3)

MN has read: Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver, set in a small farming community in the Appalachians weaving together three stories of human love within a larger tapestry of lives inhabiting the forested mountains and struggling small farms of southern Appalachia. Not rated because she didn’t finish it; it was too technical for her tastes. Lost Girls by Celina Grace focuses on a ten-year old girl whose best friend disappears and the effect this has on her life. Good story, great characters, recommended reading, (3+) Daughters of our Time by Jennifer Handford, a debut novel about infertility, cancer and adoption…a couple adopts a child from China…grab the hankies. (4.5) Finding Emma by Steena Holmes is about a five-year old who is abducted by an Alzheimer’s patient who sincerely thinks she is her granddaughter…liked it a lot. (4). The sequel, Emma’s Secret gets a (2.)

Others to consider, Beverly Dossett read Disenchanted Widow by Christina McKenna, author of The Misremembered Man takes place in the summer of 1981. Newly widowed Bessie is fleeing Belfast with her young son looking for a fresh start. She gives it a (3+-4.) Kay Robinson has read John Grisham’s latest, Sycamore Row, and really liked it…would be a Bookers’ book in her opinion (4), Pat Conroy’s non-fiction, Death of Santini is on my stack.

                                               Movie Talk

Both Leslie and Cherry have seen The Book Thief and loved it.

                                           COLOR CODING SYSTEM:

WHITE:         LIGHT READ

PINK:             MODERATELY CHALLENGING

RED:              CHALLENGING

January 7^th 2014        The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Note earlier date         PINK

                                    Home of Beverly Dossett

                                    Reviewer: Melanie Prebis

February 11^th:              The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

                                    RED

                                    Home of Patty Evans

                                    Reviewer: Patty Evans

March 11^th:                  The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

                                    PINK

                                    Home of Marlene Ungarean

                                    Reviewer: Jean McSpadden

April 8^th:                      Book TBA

                                    Home of Sandy Molander

May 13^th:                     Wonder by R.J. Palacio regular meeting 10:00 AM

                                    PINK

                                    Home of Charlotte Pechacek 

                                    Reviewer: Jean Alexander

Amid the darkness, we must remember, “the foundations of eternity are the gifts of faith, hope, and love.” We have control over them and they cannot be taken back. “It is we who choose to discard them.”

Happy Holidays & Happy Reading

JoDee

November 2013 Bookers Minutes & Musings, The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout

Families are like belly buttons, everyone has one, each unique and your own.

A blustery north wind twirled fallen leaves into banks and early morning clouds blanketed a gray cast over the lake as Shirley Falls, Maine visited 314 Saint Andrews Drive, home of Daryl Daniels. Temperatures dropped, the threat of drizzle and frost on the pumpkin lingered, and our over-vigilant weather forecasters even hinted of an early snow for our neck of the woods. 21 Bookers bundled against the chill for our regular meeting to discuss this month’s selection, The Burgess Boys, by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Elizabeth Strout.

Congratulations to Jane and Gary Freer who welcomed their third grandson, Teague Harrison Freer, born five weeks early on Veteran’s Day, weighing a little under five pounds. Mama and baby are doing well and new father, Paul, is helping Kleenex stock soar. Bonnie Magee brought her dear friend, Helen Gabriel, to the meeting and we welcomed Chris Batt back to the group.

 Surprising everyone, producers from the hit television show, Who Wants To Marry A Mainer arrived to present two contestants to our group asking which one would you choose to meet you at the altar, Jim or Bob Burgess. Via Skype, the boys introduced themselves:

“My name is Bob Burgess. Nice to meet you all. Anyways, I’m a lawyer in the appellate division of Legal Aid in New York now, although my hometown is in the “whitest State in the country.” When I was four years old, I accidently killed my father. My therapist says I’ve got “masochistic tendencies because I feel a need to be punished for this childhood act of innocence.” My ex-wife says I look like a big St. Bernard dog and all my life I’ve been “weakened by kindness.” Oy, my brother thinks I’m a “cretinized bozo.” He calls me “slob-dog” and thinks I have my own brand of goofiness. I call him an asshole. He thinks I think like a child – “like things are supposed to make sense.”

“And Bob, how do you see yourself,” asked the monitor. I’m alone within my family, but I love them unconditionally…although it’s hard to understand why. I’m welcoming to all humanity except if there are “too many of them in one place.” I’ve got issues. I’m not real sure of myself. My brother is my hero – flaws and all. Even my twin sister agrees he’s the star of the family.”

I’m Jim Burgess. How are you? Lone Star women you say. I played golf with a “Dickwad doctor” from Texas. He acted as though he saved lives. He was a dermatologist! Clueless how death-row prisoners are inhumanely injected with “Texas tea” and didn’t even know what that was! Dr. Dickwad’s service called to say there was an emergency – guess someone’s pimple got infected. I’m somewhat of a celebrity. You might recognize me as I gained an acquittal for a high-profile client – the magnitude of O.J. Simpson’s not-guilty verdict. I served as President of my college’s student government and received a full scholarship to Harvard Law School. I work for a prestigious New York law firm, or did until I moved on to pursue what I really wanted to do with my life. My life coach babbles on about how I’m secretly in “love with destruction.” All I know is my brother drives me crazy – always wanting what I have, but not willing to work for any of it.”

“So Jim, what would others say about you?” That I commandingly fill the room. Successful, the breadwinner, the go to guy – the only one in my family that’s sane. And, in my own twisted way, I love my family, although they’re all crazy and would drive anyone to jump off a bridge.”

Pat Faherty led the review of Elizabeth Strout’s latest novel, The Burgess Boys, receiving a gold medal for stepping up to the plate time-and-time again to review a book. Remember, you too could have this honor! National Public Radio called this book a “big, floppy, shambling jumble sale of a novel; loving it because it feels like life – color it chaotic and savor the authenticity of imperfection.” Told through an omniscient “roving” narrator, Bob and Jim Burgess fled the familiarity of their hometown in an attempt to start anew – to escape from the accident that defined both – each taking their guilt and running from its consequences. They proved you can change locations, but unless you change what’s inside, it proves futile. As small children, the two boys and their sister were left alone in the family car parked at the top of the hill. The car rolled down the hill killing their father. Bob lived with the title of the “one who killed his father” and spent a lifetime atoning for this sin. Jim eventually “confesses” to Bob that he was the one behind the wheel and has spent his lifetime finding the right moment to fess up. As Pat said, this is not a Leave It To Beaver episode. The boys are called back home when their sister Susan’s son rolls a bloody frozen pig’s head through the door of a mosque during Ramadan. It’s within this scenario that Ms. Strout develops the relationship between the brothers and the rest of the family in which we see how individuals rise from the emotions of their decisions. She leads us into big-issue topics including racism, cultural differences, acceptance, second chances, and the politics of immigration – all with a backdrop of a host of flawed – yet ordinary – characters, all developed with a unique, but identifiable voice. Some expressed confusion about the prologue. Who was narrating and did the reader need to know this information in going forward with the story? It’s the long-standing prologue discussion and why it’s a controversial subject when writing and/or reading a book, complicated in this case by the all-knowing voice.

Part of our discussion centered on the differences between the brothers and when asked the question that the author herself posed, “Which brother would you marry?” our group wasn’t high on either candidate, but Bob came out the winner. We did talk about the choice resting on at what stage you were in your life – a young woman might be attracted to Jim’s “potential” but someone in the “been-there-bought-the-tee-shirt” stage might favor Bob’s good heartedness over the other perks. Either way, either choice might not warrant writing home to Mama about. We talked about the role reversal when Bob took charge and captured Jim from of his “post-Helen life” as a college teacher and how families rally around each other. Applause for Susan, who after a lifetime of self-degradation and low self-esteem, took a baby step toward a leap by joining a knitting group after realizing she had something to give others by giving of herself. None of us sympathized with Adrianna, although she survived heartache by pushing her agenda to the front of the line, a perfect match for Jim’s personality, the outcome a perfect conclusion to their relationship – a comeuppance if you will. We agreed Helen didn’t hesitate to open the door letting Jim back into her life. Hopefully, each embraced the mistakes of the past with mutual respect for the future. As always, we had moments of “true confession” and “personal stories” and how we must strive to be more inclusive but at the same time, preserve our way of life and our traditions – don’t take away mine and replace it with yours.

                                                             Book Talk

As a recap, the following is the rating system MN and I have assigned to OUR opinions of books we’ve read. Again, this is meant to be a guideline only.

5 Stars:                  Order Now. Expedited shipping worthy. Include in your will.

4 Stars:                  Borders on Little Bee

3 Stars:                  Beach Read

2 Stars:                  Borrow don’t buy

1 Star:                   Put your money back in the piggy bank

I’ve finished The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. MN gave it a 4+ rating. I’m less excited and rate it a (3+). Adding to my growing stack of “to-reads” is a Charlotte Barker recommendation, Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, set in 1962 in an Italian coastal town – an innkeeper looks out over the water and spies a mysterious woman approaching him on a boat. Also from Donna Walter, The Unexpected Son by Shobhan Bantwal, is set in New Jersey, when one morning a letter arrives from India turning the protagonist’s comfortable world upside down – her illegitimate son, who she believed stillborn, is alive and in need of a bone marrow transplant. Still unfinished, but am loving it, is Don’t Let Me Go by Katherine Ryan Hyde about a former Broadway dancer and current agoraphobic who hasn’t set a foot outside his apartment in almost ten years and his neighbors including nine-year old Grace and her former addict mother. Strangely enough, MN and I both downloaded this one unbeknownst to the other. And, another Ta Da moment delivered by Beverly Dossett on behalf of her ten-year old granddaughter, Olivia, Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Its target audience is 9-12 year olds, grades 4-7, so it’s written appropriately to that level – August Pullman was born with a facial deformity and has been unable to attend regular school, until now, when he enters mainstream 5^th grade. It’s a must read for parents and grandparents alike…not to mention is rated 5 stars on Amazon with over 2,500 reviews. MN, Bernie, Beverly, and I share the rating. Jean Alexander has agreed to review it for us in May.

MN has read Moonrise by Cassandra King and gives it (2). Between Sisters by Kristen Hannah is a good beach read (3) about two sisters by blood, strangers by choice who are working at finding a way back to each other. Don’t Let Me Go by Katherine Ryan Hyde (4+) The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty, which unfolds from the third person perspectives of three women. At first glance, their connection is peripheral, but the secret Jon-Paul is keeping for decades will change all of them. (3) and Wonder  - a wonderful (5)

Dallas Noir features 16 short stories all written by Dallas veterans, Kathleen Kent & Ben Fountain among the contributors. Ben Fountain writes The Realtor, about a lawyer enamored by a Swiss Avenue mansion and the woman who handles the transaction for him. Kathleen weaves dark-blue police humor into Coincidences Can Kill You. Noir fiction is unsettling and slightly creepy stories set in a particular city.

                                                            Movie Talk

Leslie sent a N.Y. Times review of the movie, The Book Thief, describing it as a shameless piece of Oscar-seeking Holocaust kitsch. The years-spanning film, which observes traumatic historical events through Liesel’s eyes, looks and tastes like a giant sugar cake whose saccharinity largely camouflages the horrors of the war. Like a caring dentist reassuring a frightened child, it purveys a message: “Don’t be afraid. I’ll try not hurt you, although you might feel a little pinch.” Ouch

Julianne Moore will play the lead in Lisa Genova’s Still Alice.

                                                            On the business side

The group agreed to move our January meeting a week early as MN will be out of town.  Thanks to everyone as The Snow Child is one of her favorites.

Those of you who were at the Bookers 10^th Birthday party remember Pat Faherty’s poem, Dreams. She has been asked by several people to share it with us again, so here it is:

                                                             DREAMS

You have given us so many happy “dreams,” from being on a boat with a tiger, to sharing and seeing “Room.” We learned “The Plain Truth” about “The Potato Peel Pie” and the “Rules of Civility.” “The Help” you have demonstrated in the knowledge of books and the bond we have all made will be forever “Unbroken.” A “Little Bee” mentioned your love of “Roses,” so thank you JoDee and MN for all you have done! Dreams do come true!

             COLOR CODING SYSTEM

             WHITE:         LIGHT READ

             PINK:            MODERATELY CHALLENGING

             RED:              CHALLENGING

                               

December 10^th:            Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

                                    PINK

                                    Home of Jean Alexander

                                    Reviewer: Melba Holt

                                    Food Czar Bonnie Magee will coordinate

January 7^th 2014        The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Note earlier date         PINK

                                    Home of Beverly Dossett

                                    Reviewer: Melanie Prebis

February 11^th:              The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

                                    RED

                                    Home of Patty Evans

                                    Reviewer: Patty Evans

March 11^th:                  The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

                                    PINK

                                    Home of Marlene Ungarean

                                    Reviewer: Jean McSpadden

April 8^th:                      Book TBA

                                    Home of Sandy Molander

May 13^th:                     Wonder by R.J. Palacio regular meeting 10:00 AM

                                    PINK

                                    Home of Charlotte Pechacek 

                                    Reviewer: Jean Alexander

Bob says to Jim:  “We’re a family – you have a wife that hates you, kids who are furious with you, a brother, and a sister who make you insane, and a nephew who used to be kind of a drip, but apparently is not so much of a drip now. – That’s called family.”

Don’t we all have some family baggage…some heavier than the other.

Happy Reading,

JoDee

October 2013 Bookers Minutes & Musings, Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna

“Maybe she had a whole clatter of men to look at, and misremembered you Jamie. That’s just what you could be – the misremembered man – and she’s sittin’ at the phone waitin’ on you to ring and wonderin’ what’s goin’ on.”

18 Bookers arrived on a cloudy, misty day at the home of Bonnie Magee, co-hosted by Leslie Mullins. It was impossible not to imagine a bagpipe’s mournful sound, or leprechauns, shamrocks, and rainbows. We were in Ireland without having to use any frequent flyer miles. Credit for this backdrop to our book choice goes to a much higher power. And, our lake might rise if the sky continues to open.

Bookers met a week past our regular second Tuesday slot as not to conflict with our highly successful PWC garage sale. A round of applause for everyone who dug into plastic trash bags and cardboard boxes, shelved shoes and books, displayed and priced everything from sewing machines to refrigerators, and “held” everything for our shoppers. Kudos to the lifters, the haulers, and the decorators; to those who set us up and took us down; and to those who made us feel safe and secure (rumor has it there were several red level security threats in the children’s area requiring covert surveillance monitoring.) Those clad in neon vests armed with flashlights kept everyone moving and the greeters who provided our customers with shopping bags might headline in a comedy club or at least entertain a captive audience. We thank those working in the heart and “bowels” of the command center, and our checkout crews who kept our customers happy. We so appreciate co-chairs, Jean Alexander and Rebecca Brisendine, who lubricated the wheels making the event a success for the PWC and more importantly, the lake-area community. Great job.

The author of Misremembered Man, Christina McKenna, is a painter by trade and that visualization skill extended into the writing of her debut novel. With each brush stroke, she undercoated the story with imagery, well-defined characters, and a parallel plot line leaving us reveling in the mastery of her language.

Barbara Creach did a suburb job of reviewing this wonderful book. We all appreciate the research and attention to detail in walking us through this well-constructed novel with two separate stories commingling effortlessly with the other, finally crossing paths at the climax of the book. Barbara’s respect and love for this book was on display for all of us to enjoy. Bravo!

One story focuses on two lonely hearts seeking the solace of companionship. Forty-one year old, Jamie McCloone, at the age of ten and one-half months, arrived on the steps of St. Agnes Little Sisters of Charity convent, Derry County, Ireland alongside his newborn sister – abandoned, wrapped in paper, and inside a shopping bag. His adult life consisted of battling demons of neglect and cruelty above and below the surface. Between his “uneven ears, farmer’s dress, a comb-over, a long nose, morose mouth and blameless green eyes, the deep scar running from under his right eye to his jawline” graphically told of a broken man, one who “possessed a thousand petty deferments.” Lydia Devine, an unmarried forty-year old schoolteacher, longed to escape her daily caretaking duties for her “plucky” seventy-six year old mother who resembled a “geriatric doll.” She loved reading novels, taking long walks, and writing letters, and everything in her life had a proper order. In the mirror, Lydia’s nose was “too long, her mouth and eyes too small, cheeks too red and a deepening crease was forming between her eyebrows.” Her childhood was stifled by a strict Presbyterian father who preached the fourth commandment of honoring your parents forever and always. Loyalty was second nature to Lydia as she faced daily life within the constraints of the walls of her home. They seemed mismatched but both lonely hearts yearned to “see all the way to the sunlit clearing to that hallowed place where the future hadn’t shaped itself yet.”

The second storyline, told in alternating chapters, focused on Jamie’s life, or non-life, inside the walls of the orphanage. He suffered brutality at the hands of the Catholic “holy order” in charge of managing a “home” for ninety-six boys, all under the age of ten. The boys were products of “sin” and “didn’t they deserve all they got,” never experiencing freedom from fear. All the residents including Eighty-Six, as Jamie was known within these walls, suffered the type of mental, physical, and sexual abuse no one should endure. Escaping unabridged seemed unattainable until Jamie’s emancipation arrived in the form of two loving “parents” who adopted, named, nurtured, and gave him a life he never dreamed of because he didn’t know such a life existed. He became James Kevin Barry Michael and “his identity lay in the dirt others left behind and his salvation lay in cleaning it up.”

The side-by-side plots ran throughout the novel, escalating to the ending, then scissortailing the stories into a package of warmth and totality. One reviewer said, “If you want to know how to write a book, read this one.”

Our discussion centered on the orphanage abuse, how not all facilities should not be lumped together as the norm, but it only takes one to exist, as in this book, to shed light on the immorality and inhumanity the residents endured. It’s especially poignant when it is a religious based facility, as it seems to fly in the face of what is being preached. Whose standards are we to follow if the leaders of our faith abuse the very founding principles of their religion? We all agreed the chapters outlining Jamie’s life at the orphanage were excruciating to read and festered hatred for the individuals involved in his treatment. We discussed the need for supervision and openness in the foster care system with more accountability and attention paid to the rules and regulations governing these agencies. We also talked about the characters so vividly portrayed by the author. Each had a unique voice and complemented the story with that individuality. Rose seemed to be one of the favorites – with her humor, tenderness, and Rose to the rescue attitude – prompting the question to the group: Who is your Rose? We talked about Jamie’s joy when he played the accordion…people paid attention, he mattered…this was the “instrument that allowed him to speak another language from his tortured silent self.” Some felt Lydia’s mother dying at the exact time she was meeting Jamie was unnecessary, others felt it added to the plot in a way of providing the reason Lydia didn’t follow up with Jamie. The author describes it as a “divine bargain.” Several rooted for Paddy to hurry up and save Jamie but were disappointed that after the story unfolded the novel ended…they wanted perhaps a nice “family dinner” added.

We asked what book would you say stands out of all the ones we have read in the past ten years. The overwhelming choice was The Book Thief, followed by Cutting For Stone, and Roses. Others mentioned, Pillars of the Earth, Rules of Civility, The Glass Castle, Those Who Save Us, Unbroken, Art of Racing In the Rain, Caleb’s Crossing, Plain Truth, Little Bee and Room. Per request, attached are the lists of all our books for the past nine years, including a short synopsis of each, excluding Year 10, a.k.a, Books of Consequence, which is in progress.

                                                     On the business side

Hollywood producer, Robert Shapiro, has optioned Misremembered Man. Jeremy Irons will make his directorial debut in the film.

Bonnie Magee reports the movie version of The Book Thief will hit the big screen in November.

Melba has found a new web site that offers free downloads for both Kindle and Nook, www.bookbub.com. Provide your e-mail address, fill out a short book preference sheet, and they send you a daily e-mail with the offerings.

                                                      Book Talk

Lee Durso has read the first two books in Ken Follett’s Century trilogy (author of Pillars of the Earth) beginning with The Fall of Giants, followed by Winter of the World. The third, Edge of Eternity will be released September, 2014. They are historical fictions beginning prior to World War 1, giving the reader a chronological refresher of history with good characters and a serious reminder how history continues to repeat itself.

I got an e-mail from Pat Conroy while in Charleston, not touting his own book, but one his wife, Cassandra King, wrote. She has written The Sunday Wife and The Same Sweet Girls (which MN read and liked) and her latest, Moonrise is a modernized tale of du Maurier’s Rebecca. He wrote, it is “a fabulous novel and my damn wife wrote it.” MN’s sister, Pam, read it and was cool to lukewarm. Conroy’s latest, a non-fiction, The Death of Santini, will hit the stores October 29^th.

The Best American Short Stories 2013 is a compilation of twenty short stories, edited by Elizabeth Strout.

Roses and Tumbleweed author, Leila Meacham, will release Somerset, February 2014. It’s over six hundred pages and spans one hundred and fifty years of Roses’ Toliver, Warwick, and DuMont families beginning in the antebellum South on Plantation Alley in South Carolina where Silas Toliver, deprived of his inheritance, joins up with his best friend, Jeremy Warwick, to plan a wagon train expedition to a new territory called Texas.

Speaking of settings in Texas, Kathleen Kent’s new novel, The Outcasts, is set in the nineteenth century on the Gulf Coast. I attended her book signing in Dallas and was again impressed with her presence, storytelling, and genuine passion for her characters. Although I’ve just started, it might be one to consider for Bookers. I’ll keep you posted. She will be participating in a live author chat on Tuesday, October 22^nd, 8:00 P.M. EST. Go to www.bookmovement.com to listen to her discuss this book. (No special login is required)

Also in my pile, Barbara Delinsky’s, Sweet Salt Air. Best friends spent summers together and now reunite back at the island house on the coast of Maine. One is a travel writer, the other a food blogger and they are collaborating on a new project. The Matchstick Cross, by Laurie Parker, is a debut novel by an award winning children’s book author about a New York based interior designer returning home to Mississippi to clear out a storage unit from her recently deceased mother’s attic. The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea, twenty years in the making, is a true story of his great-aunt, set in 1873 in the republic of Mexico. A Widow For One Year by John Irving is a multilayered love story following the protagonist through three of the most pivotal times in her life. Also, lingering on my Kindle, The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver’s first novel about a Kentucky native while escaping her roots inherits a three year old native-American little girl named Turtle. Don’t Let Me Go by Catherine Ryan Hyde is about a former Broadway dancer and current agoraphobic who hasn’t set a foot outside his apartment in almost ten years and his neighbors including nine-year old Grace and her former addict mother. Long Time Coming by Edie Claire, was a free download, a romantic suspense novel set in a small Kentucky town. Eighteen years have passed since the protagonist’s childhood friend was killed in a car accident a few days prior to their senior prom. She returns home because of her father’s illness to find neither distance nor time has reconciled her grief.

MN is reading The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty, which unfolds from the third person perspectives of three women. At first glance, their connection is peripheral, but the secret Jon-Paul is keeping for decades will change all of them. Another one that might be “ours.”

                                                COLOR CODING SYSTEM
                                    WHITE:         LIGHT READ
                                    PINK:            MODERATELY CHALLENGING
                                    RED:              CHALLENGING

                               

November 12^th:           The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout

PINK

                                    Home of Daryl Daniels

                                    Reviewer: Pat Faherty

December 10^th:            Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

                                    PINK

                                    Home of Jean Alexander

                                    Reviewer: Melba Holt

                                    Food Czar Bonnie Magee will coordinate light fare & champagne

January 14, 2014         The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

                                    PINK

                                    Home of Beverly Dossett

                                    Reviewer: Melanie Prebis

February 11^th:              The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

                                    RED

                                    Home of Patty Evans

                                    Reviewer: Patty Evans

March 11^th:                  The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

                                    PINK

                                    Home of Marlene Ungarean

                                    Reviewer: Jean McSpadden

April 8^th:                      Book TBA

                                    Home of Sandy Molander

May 13^th:                     Book TBA – regular meeting 10:00 AM

                                    Home of Charlotte Pechacek 

The image of friendship is a poignant example of Celtic wisdom that transcends the ages. Spiritual tradition teaches that the human soul hovers around a body like a vigilant halo. Anam Cara, which means soul friend, is what results when two souls flow together – when kindred spirits find each other. Once the friendship is awakened between two people, it cannot be broken by time or space. Anam Cara accepts you for who you are, and in doing so, helps you give birth to your own soul.

Happy Reading fellow Anam Caras,

JoDee

SEPTEMBER 2013 BOOKERS MINUTES & MUSINGS, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

                                 "O wonder!
        “How many goodly creatures are there here!
      How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world”

              William Shakespeare, The Tempest

Happy 10^th Birthday Bookers

Happy 110^th Birthday Crayola

It all began September 14, 2004. Bookers met at the home of MN Stanky. Our first selection was a classic, Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Ann Burns. 25 avid readers returned not only to the site, but to where our quest began – to solidify with each other our mutual love of the written word – to learn, grow, and discover what lies deep inside the covers of a book and within us. Amongst birthday balloons, cake, and mimosas (we told you it was a celebration!) we each chose a crayon (what does your choice of color reveal about yourself?) and we raised our glasses in a toast to Bookers and to Crayola (and silently to those who celebrate Patriot Day, etc...on September 11^th)

“We can learn a great deal from crayons. Some are sharp; some are pretty; some are dull; some have weird names. All are different colors, but, they all have to live in the same box.”

Then, Pat Faherty hijacked our well-planned out agenda, and on behalf of all the co-conspirators, showered MN and I with a wonderful poem, red roses, cards, and presents. What a wonderfully unnecessary treat…but, Oh my we both do love presents. Our Dreams Come True garden art is poignant and timely on so many levels. In the words of Little Bee, “a bee flew in from the sea, touched down on a pale flower, flew off without any fuss, but left the flower beautiful.” You’ve pollinated our lives with your support and enthusiasm. You all are our “bees.” Thank you! buzzzzzzzzzzz…………..

Our gang has officially read 88 books. Additionally, we’ve studied happiness and the Amish, ‘typed’ our personalities, and enjoyed a classic played out on stage. We dressed in character and created rooms from books, traveled the world, and discovered the depths within each other. A Holocaust survivor accounting the horrors of her detention silenced us as she softy spoke of her ordeal, void of malice and laced with hope. Stories from our own World War II veterans flooded us with patriotism. We munched and imbibed our way through our annual evening meetings, sharing books, triumphs, joys, and heartaches. We’ve oooo’d and aaaaah’d, cried both inside and out, passed the tissues, and sometimes belly laughed (only to again pass the tissues)… we’ve discussed and maybe mildly cussed. MN and I are grateful for the opportunity to be part of this amazing group of women for the past nine years and here’s to the start of a new decade.

Advances in science and technology since the 1930’s have enabled us to move from coal oil lamps to electricity, horse-drawn buggies to the automobile, battery-powered radios to high definition televisions, rotary phones to smart phones, and because of our understanding of the atom, we see success stories such as Google, Twitter, and Facebook. What’s next on the horizon? Stem cell therapies and genetic engineering procedures replacing damaged and aging organs; nanorobotics installed in countertop replicator machines providing household necessities such as food, medicine, clothing, and appliances; tiny nanorobots swimming through our bodies, inspecting cells and making repairs to faulty DNA, eliminating nearly every disease; non-biological body parts could be developed – immune to disease, accidents, and violence – but should a fatal disaster occur, mind and memories could be transferred to a new “housing unit” allowing life to continue – patients would wake up in their new body not even realizing they had died; and by 2150 there will be more humans living in space than on earth. Talk about another “new world”…Rest assured there’s another Huxley in the wings ready to take us on this journey!

Brave New World

Aldous Huxley, raised in a family of scientists, writers, and teachers, was an intellectual who had mastered the use of the English language but also knew about cutting-edge developments in science and other fields. Most of his earlier works focused on conflicts between the interests of individuals and society, these themes reaching their zenith in Brave New World where he combined satire with his fascination with science creating a world in which a totalitarian government controlled society by use of science and technology. He was an ardent pacifist, experimented with hallucinogenic drugs, was interested in occult phenomena such as hypnotism and séances, and wrote several books about these experiences making a profound impact on the sixties counterculture. The Doors of Perception influenced singer Jim Morrison whose band, The Doors, was named. Huxley died on November 22, 1963.

Penny Barshop, our reviewer for Brave New World, captured the attention of our “elder AP English class” as she deftly walked us through the nuances of this 1932 classic – somehow fitting a two-hour review into thirty minutes. Bravo Penny!! The author, considered a prophetic genius and one of the most important literary voices of the twentieth century, used the blueprint of Shakespeare’s The Tempest  to create this satirical look at a utopian (idyllic) or dystopian (utopia gone bad) world. The society was prosperous and full of contented people always provided for and programmed to like their life in all aspects.

The setting is future Earth, 632 years after “Ford” (Henry that is) where the citizens of the World State are mass produced on an assembly line and conditioned for lives in a rigid caste system featuring the Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons, all united under one government, ‘under Ford.’ Huxley opens the book by allowing us to eavesdrop on a tour of the Fertilizing Room of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, where the high-tech reproduction takes place, rigidly controlled through technological and medical interventions. An authoritarian system sterilizes two-thirds of the women, requires the rest to use contraceptives, and surgically removes ovaries when needed to produce new ‘humans.’ The act of sex is controlled by a system of social rewards for promiscuity and lack of commitment. Individuals, or ‘production products,’ view happiness as the ability to satisfy needs, and success as a society equates with economic growth and prosperity. They do everything possible to avoid facing truth about their own situations. Willful self-delusion produced by use of their happy pill, Soma, is a tool for promoting social stability. They believe they are better off with happiness or instant gratification than with human truths such as love, friendship, and personal connection. The very will to search for these truths are deadly to a communal society that maintains control by making its citizens so happy and specifically fulfilled they don’t care about their personal freedoms. In Brave New World the consequences of state control are loss of dignity, morals, values, and emotions – in short, where humanity becomes a commodity.

Huxley’s cast of main characters includes a mix of an Alpha male, Bernard Marx, who fails to fit in because of his small physical stature and an Alpha lecturer in the College of Emotional Engineering, Helmholtz Watson, a perfect caste fit, except he longs to use his writing abilities for something more meaningful. The Resident World Controller of Western Europe, Mustapha Mond, whose name means world, was a young ambitious scientist forced to choose between his science and a life of exile because he was caught conducting illicit research. And, John, the savage, the consummate outsider and only major character to have grown up outside the World State, raised on a New Mexico Savage Reservation – his entire worldview based on his knowledge of Shakespeare’s plays. By providing traits of a few individuals who don’t entirely fit into the molded world, Huxley explores the alternatives to his invented society’s promotion of mindless satisfaction with the help of John and Shakespeare and he reveals some disturbing secrets underneath the bright, shiny façade of his contrived society. What can possibly be wrong with a world in which everybody is happy? If we can make ourselves superficially content and never have to suffer a moment of desperation or uncertainty, why not just do that? Should we favor perpetual happiness void of art, deep thought, and emotion? Are attempts to find deeper meaning silly and self-defeating, as we will all meet the same fate in the end?

This book is a classic, but why?  Every generation for the past eighty years since the book’s publication has witnessed oppression by a government or at the hands of a controller. This book makes us think about our technology-driven world. Are we losing our individual identities to the lure of a faceless world? High school students are still reading Brave New World. What kind of an impact does John’s guilt driven suicide to close the book send to our young adults? It seems to tie a sex and drug culture to loss of identity. In the animal kingdom the caste system flourishes – everyone has a job to do – they all work together for a common good – so is that all bad? For us, living in a brave new world without freedom of choice would be an oxymoron. No thanks!

 

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Bookers business:

Bonnie Magee reported Judy Lee appreciates all the cards and support she is receiving. She is making progress every day and we wish her a speedy recovery from her injuries.

Shayne Parkinson, author of Sentence of Marriage, left this comment on bookers-online.blogspot.com: “What a wonderful setting you created with your photographs and memorabilia. And what insightful and thoughtful comments. Thank you so much for discussing Sentence of Marriage.”

East Texas Book Exchange, 408 North Prairieville, Athens (two blocks north of the Courthouse) is open for business, Monday-Saturday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Bruce and Mary Jo Gallager buy and trade books and this establishment is reportedly “the most organized book store on the planet.”

Sandy Molander announced bridge lessons will begin the first Thursday in October at the Bridge Studio in Gun Barrel. Cost is $55.00, which includes the book. For those who’ve never played bridge, there are two free sessions the last two Thursdays in September. Direct any questions to Sandy.

Movie night at Mike & Patsy Dehn’s house on Friday, September 13^th featuring “42” the Jackie Robinson story. Everyone is welcome. The movie will begin around 8:00 PM.

The garage sale is approaching and we are begging for boutique clothes and jewelry. Contact Jean Alexander if you can help.

Summer reading recap

It’s been requested that MN and I “rate” the books we’ve read to provide a clearer assessment of what WE think of them. Disclaimer: These opinions are our own and do not reflect the view of our book club as a whole – how’s that for following the letter of the law. HA! We’ll incorporate the following guidelines:

5 Stars:                  Order Now. Expedited shipping worthy. Include in your will.

4 Stars:                  Borders on Little Bee

3 Stars:                  Beach Read

2 Stars:                  Borrow don’t buy

1 Star:                   Put your money back in the piggy bank

MN: read all Gillian Flynn books, Gone Girl,(4) Dark Places & Sharp Objects;(3+) Defending Jacob by William Landay,(4); Treading Waters series by Marie Force (3) The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman,(4) Spitfire Puffin Cove1by Carla Doolin (2) Me Before You by JoJo Moyes (4) Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts (3) This summer’s Gone Girl, The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison,(3+) The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (5); The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver (4+)

JoDee: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, Anthony Marra (4);  Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, (2); The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult…I tried three times and just couldn’t get beyond the first one hundred pages…not sure why – no rating. Me Before You by JoJo Moyes, (4+) One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus (2) And, of course our ta da novel…I loved Harold! (5)

                                                            What’s New

Kathleen Kent, author of The Outcasts will be appearing Tuesday, September 24th at Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Park, Dallas 7 PM – 7700 West Northwest Highway (southwest corner of Northwest Highway and I-75 – directly across from NorthPark Mall – book available that day. 214-739-1124 It's the 19^th century on the Gulf Coast, a time of opportunity and lawlessness. After escaping the Texas brothel where she'd been a virtual prisoner, Lucinda Carter heads for Middle Bayou to meet her lover, who has a plan to make them both rich, chasing rumors of a pirate's buried treasure.

Making noise on the NY Times Bestsellers list – readers can’t get enough of series books, romance, crime, and erotica. The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowlings) is a crime mystery. 50 Shades fans will enjoy Complete Me, the last in the erotica trilogy series, preceded by Claim Me and Release Me or The Highway by C.J. Box a series full of gore and language. You can’t argue with success. Finding a book that will sell is the goal of the publisher.  But it’s also why we search “beyond the lists” for a quality read for Bookers!

Coming in the fall is Pat Conroy’s latest, a non-fiction, The Death of Santini, a story of a father and a son. John Grisham will be releasing Sycamore Row returning us to the Clanton, Mississippi courthouse, and Jake Brigance, 25 years after the release of A Time to Kill. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, has written a novel, The Signature of All Things, about a globe-trotting family set in 18^th * 19^th centuries.

Movies on horizon – Fault in Our Stars is filming. Willem Dafoe is cast as Peter Van Houton. Angelina Jolie is directing Unbroken.

COLOR CODING SYSTEM

WHITE:         LIGHT READ

PINK:            MODERATELY CHALLENGING

RED:              CHALLENGING

                               

*October 15^th:            Note: LATER date because of the Garage Sale

The Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna

RED

                                    Home of Bonnie Magee, co-hosted by Leslie Mullins

                                    Reviewer: Barbara Creech

November 12^th:           The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout

PINK

                                    Home of Daryl Daniels

                                    Reviewer: Pat Faherty

December 10^th:            Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

                                    PINK

                                    Home of Jean Alexander

                                    Reviewer: TBA

                                    Food Czar Bonnie Magee will coordinate light fare & champagne

January 14, 2014         The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

                                    PINK

                                    Home of Beverly Dossett

                                    Reviewer: Melanie Prebis

February 11^th:              The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

                                    RED

                                    Home of Patty Evans

                                    Reviewer: Patty Evans

March 11^th:                  The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

                                    PINK

                                    Home of Marlene Ungarean

                                    Reviewer: Jean McSpadden

April 8^th:                      Book TBA

                                    Home of Sandy Molander

May 13^th:                     Book TBA – regular meeting 10:00 AM

                                    Home of Charlotte Pechacek 

“Words can be like X-rays, if you use them properly – they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.”

Happy Reading,

JoDee