The next book planned is A Thousand Lives by Julia Scheerers. Debby plans to host the group at her home on October 23.
Monday, October 6, 2014
September 2014 - The Kitchen House
After a summer of busy schedules, more infrequent meetings and lower attendance, the club met this month at the home of Marcia R, ready to get "back on board". We had a very nice turnout to discuss this month's reading selection, The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. Most of our members gave good ratings to this book, with just a few minor criticisms relating to some of the stereotypes and melodrama
. We enjoyed good discussion about the characters and themes from the novel. We also spent a little bit of time to complete the discussion on Natchez Burning since we had a smaller turnout for that meeting.
The next book planned is A Thousand Lives by Julia Scheerers. Debby plans to host the group at her home on October 23.
The next book planned is A Thousand Lives by Julia Scheerers. Debby plans to host the group at her home on October 23.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
January 2014 - The Burgess Boys
Turning Leaves book club members met at the home of Geri Beckman on January 21st to discuss our first book of 2014. The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout was on our reading list for this month. As usual, we started the meeting by rating the book. The book was pretty well liked and most of the reviews ranged in the 7-8 range. The characters in the book made way for a rich discussion. Geri served a couple of tasty desserts, including a german chocolate "poke" cake that was heavenly.
More about The Burgess Boys:
From BooklistPulitzer Prize–winning Strout (Olive Kitteridge, 2008) delivers a tightly woven yet seemingly languorous portrayal of a family in longtime disarray. Brothers Jim and Bob Burgess, and sister Susan, are mired in a childhood trauma: when he was four, Bob unwittingly released the parking brake on the family car, which ran over their father and killed him. Originally from small Shirley Falls, Maine, the Burgess brothers have long since fled to vastly disparate lives as New York City attorneys. Egoistic Jim is a famous big shot with a corporate firm. Self-effacing Bob leads a more low-profile career with Legal Aid. High-strung Susan calls them home to fix a family crisis: her son stands accused of a possible hate crime against the small town’s improbable Somali population. The siblings’ varying responses to the crisis illuminate their sheer differences while also recalling their shared upbringing, forcing them finally to deal with their generally unmentioned, murky family history. Strout’s tremendous talent at creating a compelling interest in what seems on the surface to be the barest of actions gives her latest work an almost meditative state, in which the fabric of family, loyalty, and difficult choices is revealed in layer after artful layer. --Julie Trevelyan
We chose a couple of upcoming books which can be found on the link to the right. Vicki will be hosting the February meeting where we will discuss We Are Water by Wally Lamb.
More about The Burgess Boys:
From BooklistPulitzer Prize–winning Strout (Olive Kitteridge, 2008) delivers a tightly woven yet seemingly languorous portrayal of a family in longtime disarray. Brothers Jim and Bob Burgess, and sister Susan, are mired in a childhood trauma: when he was four, Bob unwittingly released the parking brake on the family car, which ran over their father and killed him. Originally from small Shirley Falls, Maine, the Burgess brothers have long since fled to vastly disparate lives as New York City attorneys. Egoistic Jim is a famous big shot with a corporate firm. Self-effacing Bob leads a more low-profile career with Legal Aid. High-strung Susan calls them home to fix a family crisis: her son stands accused of a possible hate crime against the small town’s improbable Somali population. The siblings’ varying responses to the crisis illuminate their sheer differences while also recalling their shared upbringing, forcing them finally to deal with their generally unmentioned, murky family history. Strout’s tremendous talent at creating a compelling interest in what seems on the surface to be the barest of actions gives her latest work an almost meditative state, in which the fabric of family, loyalty, and difficult choices is revealed in layer after artful layer. --Julie TrevelyanWe chose a couple of upcoming books which can be found on the link to the right. Vicki will be hosting the February meeting where we will discuss We Are Water by Wally Lamb.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
A Wonderful Night
Thanks to Char for hosting our holiday get-together on January 4th. The catered meal was delicious and the conversation and laughter reminded us all how much fun it is to get together. May we find many good reads and great conversations in 2014!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
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