OCTOBER 2021 BOOKERS MINUTES & MUSINGS, THE AUDACITY OF SARA GRAYSON, JOANI ELLIOTT

 

“It’s like my whole world is coming undone, but when I write, my pencil is a needle and thread, and I’m stitching the scraps back together.” Julia Alverez, internationally renowned Latina writer.

15 Bookers trekked to the home of Debbie Yarger to discuss this month’s selection. We welcomed new member Amy Killian and hope she will join us again. Bonnie Magee announced as our official food czar that the email for our December fare would be coming out a little later this year due to travel plans but look for it in your inbox mid to the later part of November.

Jen White Sherman, owner of Bookish bookstore in Malakoff, has offered to purchase our books at a discounted rate. This would be a wonderful way to support our local store and “shop small” without having to leave the house (unless we want to that is!) Many in attendance embraced the idea and I offered to coordinate the orders and distribute to you. PLEASE SEE THE LIST OF REMAINING BOOKS AND EMAIL ME ASAP IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE. We understand many prefer reading on their devices or listening to the audio versions but for those who like the feel of a physical book this is a great opportunity and of course will support our local bookstore.

The 2021 Pinnacle Market and Craft Fair at the Pinnacle Clubhouse will be held Friday, October 22^nd, 3:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 23^rd, 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.  Patsy Dehn reported there are 19 vendors featuring seasonal décor, jewelry, bags, pottery, wine glasses, collectibles, candles, yummy bakery items, and more. Great opportunity to support the talented “craftsmen” of our community and check things off your Christmas list!

We were pleased to be able to select a BookTrib book for our group and the following is my “review” of The Audacity of Sara Grayson by Joani Elliott written in Sara’s voice.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed and inadequate in the shadow of a larger-than-life personality especially one who just happened to give birth to you? Welcome to my world. My name is Sara Grayson. I’m thirty-two years old, an English teacher at the University of Maryland whose classroom is filled with hungover freshmen, and I was a mediocre greeting card writer whose specialty was humorous chemotherapy messages before becoming a part-time coupon writer. My husband walked out of my life armed with our high-tech waffle maker and my self-esteem leaving me with my only companion, wonder-dog, Gatsby, the yellow lab who flunked out of companion dog school.

My British father, the writer, died when I was seven and my Mum, Cassandra Bond, is not only a renowned author but looks as though she stepped out of the cover of Vogue magazine – more like a movie star that decided to write a book rather than a lonely author in sweatpants. Self-confidence on any level is not my strong suit – would I ever consider wearing bright red lipstick and sequins on Tuesday at noon? Never.

The closest I got to our storied family’s literary gene was a futile attempt at writing a novel and perhaps my epic mistake or biggest gift was presented in the form of a scathing ten-page critique of my efforts by Mum’s editor.  Obviously, I had not inherited one ounce of talent from either parent. My solution was to give up because when you have a black belt in doubt and wallow in the imposter syndrome that’s what you do, alongside drinking tea and crying a lot.

Author Joani Elliott opens my story when I’m attending another premiere of another one of my Mum’s books, the fourth in the Ellery Dawson series to be made into a movie. My gown was supposed to be emerald green, but the dress shop sent a gray dress instead – assuring me it would “hold tones of shimmering pink and would look absolutely breathtaking.” It didn’t but it did match my image of myself – gray, lost, insecure, negative, and confused. Making matters worse an unfortunate whoops-a-daisy resulted in a vaulted shrimp tail lodging in my cleavage. That was nothing compared to the devastating news that Mum was dying of cancer – a secret she kept from both my sister, Anna-Kath, and me. I couldn’t imagine it getting any worse until her lawyer announced, “Your mom wants you to write Book Five,” then handed me a letter from her.

            My dear Sara,

Audacity. Four fabulous syllables. Remember this was on our favorite words list? A word with superb meaning and long overlooked as a girl’s name. So, David has told you the news. Yes, the book is yours. This audacious request is my gift to you. I know what we talked about, but you were meant to tell stories too. You have words, my dear. Write them.

Mum

I wasn’t exactly a model of emotional stability when I walked into the lawyer’s office but by the time I got to my sister’s house, I was a raving maniac. How could Mum ask me – or will me to write the final book in a series with at least fifteen-million readers clamoring to find out the details left hanging in book four? Plus, I hate to admit it I haven’t read any of the series so how am I supposed to know what is expected in the final book?

If I don’t “man-up” as my sister pronounced, I’d always be the daughter who rejected her mother’s dying wish, but I knew what I was going to do when we met with the who’s who of Iris Books. The new head of operations, Jane Harnois, was one of those women who always droned on about being thrilled, but never was – the type with her permanent nose in the air posture who had mastered the controlled gush. It was her response to my announcement that I thought it best to turn the project over to someone else that caught my attention. She was far too ecstatic for my taste and the fact that her hair never moved put my opinion of her over the top, her questioning the soundness of Mum’s mind, and the insults to my little job gave me a surge of confidence and the will to change my mind and move forward with the “little project” of writing Book Five.

I was given seven months to write the most anticipated book of the decade. What have I done!

This book is a mix of the craft and business of writing mixed in with a little romance and a few solved mysteries. The quotes at the beginning of each chapter detail the journey of forging ahead to complete a novel – a concept familiar with the author. Joani left her beloved teaching job at the University of Maryland to follow her dream of writing and publishing a novel.  Sara Grayson was born when her own writing was going nowhere and she thought, what if people were waiting for me to finish this book? She echoed the same self-doubt and struggles as Sara faced but her process involved staring out the window, complaining loudly, eating chocolate almonds, and trying not to cry when people ask if she was finished with that book yet. The lesson she wants all readers to take away from this book is that there is a yearning to create inside every one of us although it’s different for each person. We honor that yearning when we give it a voice. Books are written one word, sentence, and page at a time – much like what we want to accomplish in life if we keep showing up and doing the work.

Our thoughts and discussion:

Most read and really enjoyed the story and the characters. It was a fun and easy read but a page-turner at the same time. We talked about Cassandra’s comfort drawer and what we might add to our own. Six degrees of separation was talked about in the book, and we all shared our stories about finding a connection to others beyond blood relatives. Everything in the book also typified this theory as it was all interconnected, flowing seamlessly and effortlessly from page one to the end. We discussed whether creativity was present within all of us – not on the genius level of a Hemingway or Mozart – but we all have the ability to make new things or think of new ideas whether they are our hobbies or interests, and how creativity is tied directly to problem solving. Secrets played a role in the novel as they do within many families – the justification often is to protect someone or fear their actions will be discovered and judged. We spoke of the differences and similarities between the sisters and their strong bond and how the different settings (Maine and London) were major forces in the development of the characters. Cassandra – kind, wise, comfortable in her own shoes. Nik – mysterious and complex. Phil – hard-nosed at his job but genuine and loving in his relationship with Cassandra. Sara – spent most of the book trying not to write the book, but the “words came to her” and she finally believed in her talent. Jane – the ultimate high-profile alpha female – good at her job but inflexible when it came to her vision for Iris Books – until the end – when she flip-flopped on the major manuscript changes Sara had made to Book Five. One of our astute members mentioned the continued use of nicknames as hints to the relationship storylines as they were revealed throughout the novel and this same member commented there should have been a love scene! We were treated to the happy-ever-after Pollyanna ending that was expected but also welcomed and satisfying.    

COLOR CODING SYSTEM

WHITE:         LIGHT READ

PINK:             MODERATELY CHALLENGING

RED:              CHALLENGING

November 16:            Note change of date             

A Kind of Hush, JoDee Neathery

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Am so excited to have a guest reviewer…past Bookers’ member and someone instrumental in the publication of Life in a Box. Penny Barshop will be joining us to offer her insight into “Hush.” Penny is a UT graduate, spent over a decade teaching high school English literature with her specialty, the study of the American novel.  Bring your questions, your thoughts, and your book if you would like an autograph…I have bookmarks for all of you and if you need a copy of “Hush” I just happen to have a few copies – paperback and hardback – residing as guests in the extra bedroom.

                                    Home of Ann Ireland

December 14:            The Story of Arthur Truluv, Elizabeth Berg

For six months after his wife died, Arthur Moses’s life has been the same…tending to his rose garden and his cat, Gordon, then takes a bus to the cemetery to visit and have lunch with his late beloved wife. The last thing he imagined was that one unlikely encounter would change his life completely.  

PINK

                                    Discussion Leader: Rebecca Brisendine

                                    Home of our food czar Bonnie Magee

January 11, 2022       In Five Years, Rebecca Serle

A striking, powerful, and moving love story following an ambitious lawyer who experiences an astonishing vision that could change her life forever.

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Discussion Leader:

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February 8:               Dear Edward, Ann Napolitano

What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live? One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Halfway across the country, the plane crashes and Edward is the only survivor.

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Discussion Leader: Jean Alexander

Home of                     

March 8:                    The Address, Fiona Davis

When a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house, the Dakota, leads to a job offer for Sara Smythe, her world is suddenly awash in possibility – no mean feat for a servant in 1884.

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Discussion Leader

Home of Joylene Miller

April 12:                    Cher Ami & Major Whittlesey, Kathleen Rooney

From the green countryside of England and the gray canyons of Wall Street come two unlikely heroes – one pigeon and the other a soldier. Answering the call to serve in WWI neither the messenger bird nor Charles Whittlesey the army officer can anticipate how their lives will briefly intersect in a chaotic battle in the forests of France.

PINK

Discussion Leader:

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May 10:                      Be Frank With Me, Julia Cleburne Johnson                         Debut

A reclusive literary legend who wrote a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning novel at nineteen has barely been seen or heard from since though, ironically, she still lives in a glass mansion in Bel Air even after having lost all her money in a Ponzi scheme. She needs to write another novel, so her publisher sends her a highly competent editorial assistant whose job is to be a companion to the author’s nine-year-old son – a boy with the intellect of Albert Einstein and the wardrobe of a 1930s movie star. 

PINK

Discussion Leader

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Summer Read:          The Wives of Henry Oades, Johanna Moran

When Henry Oades accepts an accountancy post in New Zealand, his wife, Margaret, and their children follow him to exotic Wellington. But while Henry is an adventurer, Margaret is not. Their new home is rougher and more rustic than they expected—and a single night of tragedy shatters the family when the native Maori stage an uprising, kidnapping Margaret, and her children. The story is based on a real-life legal case.

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Happy Reading,

JoD