Book Club News and Photos

The book for this month (January) is Last Chance in Texas, by John Hubner, a local author who has agreed to attend our discussion on Feb 12th at Jill's house. This way, the author can talk about sociopaths instead of making Claudia do it all over again!

Finally, pictures of our Christmas Dinner at Casablanca.

Mr. Ryder

Bob and Claudia

Janeen and Dan


Ian and Kathy

Master of Ceremonies, Andrea

Jill

Mother Jennifer

Ruth and Flake, I mean Roger

Leah and Nez

Dave and Jennifer

Nancy and Eric

Kathy, Cheryl and Bob

Sheri and Bruce

Self explanatory (if you read the book)

The Whole Group. Can you tell who's head is not their

original head?

Keep Scrolling

Dan and I returned to the "scene of the crime" a few days ago and I took a picture (from a long distance away) of the Shooter's house and the area where it all went down. In the lower right corner you can see the Stegner bench. Happy memories.

Look what they put up just beyond the Stegner Bench. If you notice, though, there is a person in the distance beyond the sign. (Wasn't me, or Dan)

Stop That Girl October 9, 2008

This was a special book club because it was the first one where the author attended! We met at the Kaspar's home to discuss Stop That Girl, by Elizabeth Mckenzie. This was Ruth's book. It was very fun to be able to ask the author lots of questions and it became quickly apparent that the book was extremely autobiographical. The author had originally written up separate episodes from her life and eventually put them together in this book. The setting was California and Santa Cruz in particular so that made it more relevant to us. The main character was Ann Ransom and we followed her life from age 8 to adulthood. Other characters included her mother, Helen, step father Roy Weeks, grandmother Dr. Frost and poet Allen Ginsberg. This book felt to some of us like it was written for young readers, although it could have just been the cover that gave that impression. We had a side discussion about the "shooting incident" and had lots of laughs about it. We have decided on Monday, Dec 15 for our annual book club dinner. The next meeting will be at Kathy's on November 13 and we will read Jill's book People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks.

Shantaram September 11, 2008

We met at the Thompsons to discuss Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. The book was 936 pages long--our longest book so far! Jennifer had been to India recently and shared slides of her trip on her laptop. It turned out that most everything in the book actually happened to the author. The events were real, but the characters, dialogue and settings were fictional. It was generally felt that the book took a wrong turn when it shifted to Afghanistan and that the story became disparate and darker at that point. The first two thirds of the book were delightful and we all laughed about the "outer underpants." Some of the main characters were Lin, the Australian, former heroin-addict, prison escapee, Prabaker, the guileless tour guide, Karla, the mysterious love interest and Abdel Khader Khan, the Indian Mafia Benefactor. A movie of this book is scheduled to be released in 2011, starring Johnny Depp. The author is currently working on a sequel to this book.

Book Club Hike

Thursday, July 31, 2008

We met at the Saratoga Gap parking lot and drove to the trailhead entrance at LR 10 on Skyline. It was a beautiful evening and we hiked up to the highest ridge on Skyline where the Wallace Stegner bench is situated. We enjoyed a picnic and a short tribute to Wallace Stegner. The plaque on the bench is a quote from the Wilderness Letter, written in 1960. The plaque says " . . . to try to save for everyone, for the hostile and indifferent as well as the committed, some of the health that flows down across the great ridges from the Skyline, and home of the beauty and refreshment of spirit that are still available to any resident of the valley who has a moment, and the wit, to lift up his eyes unto the hills." We were basking in the beauty of the place and feeling the spirit of Stegner's message when we decided to hike up a little further to see the sunset. When the Sunset Trail ended, we walked through the tall grass to the edge of hills.

And this where WE WERE SHOT!! We had inadvertently wandered onto private property and some maniac began shooting at us with a shot gun. Even though it was probably bird shot, several of us were hit, including Kathy in the face! We turned around and left the area but he continued to shoot at us repeatedly, and even when we had returned to the Stegner bench he continued to fire on us. Most of us can say that this was the first time we had ever been shot at but for Ian and Kathy, it was just another one of their many adventures!

On the way back, Ian found a Geo-cache. It was a little toy figurine. He replaced it with a book mark of the Stegner Bench that Andrea had made for all of us. It was an outing we won't soon forget!

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

We met at Andrea's to discuss the Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Sheri led the discussion for Bruce since Bruce was away at Boy Scout Camp. We welcomed our newest member, Claudia Wrathall!
The general consensus of the group was that the book was well written and enjoyable until the end. Those who finished the book expressed feelings ranging from disappointment to outrage at the ending. The book was very Hamlet-like and had strong parallels to the play. Definitely a tragedy! Dog-lovers in the group appreciated that aspect of the book.
Our next book, to be discussed on Sept 11, 2008, will be Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts. It's r-e-a-l-l-y long, but we have two months to read it and it is available on Audible as well as Audio CD. We trust Jennifer's choice of books. She has never led us astray! The meeting will be at Kathy's house in Boulder Creek.
Our summer "field trip" will be on Thursday, July 31. We will hike to the Stegner bench in the Long Ridge Open Space Preserve off of Skyline. We will meet at the Waterman Gap parking lot (the intersection of Highway 9 and Skyline) between 6:00 and 6:15 that evening. Everyone bring your own water and a food item to share for a picnic. Plates and utensils will be provided. Happy reading.

Very Important Information!

Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle
Courtesy of Sheri Sudweeks

2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. almond extract

1/2 pint whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
sugar to taste

1 angel food cake torn into bite size pieces
2 quarts fresh strawberries, thinly sliced
3 tbs. sugar
3 tbs. almond extract

In a large bowl cream first five ingredients and set aside. In a small deep bowl whip the cream, vanilla, and sugar. Fold whipped cream in the first mixture and add the cake.Combine the strawberries, sugar, and almond extract.Layer in trifle bowl starting and ending with strawberries. Chill well.

Next Book!

We had a lovely meeting at the Sudweeks home. The GPS was going batty trying to get there but we made it. We discussed The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Leah did a wonderful review and helped us understand the author and the different voices that immigrants speak through. Most of us felt that the book's violence and language were gratuitous, though it was an interesting and captivating story. Comments welcomed!
Our next book will be The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski. This is a first novel, described as a "modern Hamlet", and has incredible endorsements. Jennifer has the books for next time, July 10. Place to be determined. Bring your calendars as we will be picking a date for our August hike to the Stegner Bench.
Bob W. is getting married on June 27 in Salt Lake City. Mark your calendars for a reception for them on July 19. Congratulations Bob.

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

Dan led the discussion of this book by Carson McCullers. She had an interesting life, partly autobiographical in that she grew up in a small Georgia town and excelled in music. She went to New York to enroll at Julliard at age 17, but lost the money she had brought for her schooling and never did pursue a musical career. Instead she took writing classes and began this book at age 22. She married, then divorced, then remarried the same man. He was an alcoholic who eventually took his own life. She suffered several strokes that left her partially paralyzed and also had breast cancer. She died at age 50. Both she and her husband experienced some homosexual interests.

All of her books, including this one, are characterized by the theme of human loneliness. Each character tried to overcome loneliness by their relationship with Singer, the deaf mute. Each projected their own needs and desires onto Singer, while Singer found solace and meaning only in his relationship with Antonopolis, a self-absorbed, glutenous mute who was convined to a mental hospital. Each character had a passion which was their "one, true thing." Sharing their passion with Singer gave them hope and meaning. Biff was the character that was the most balanced. He was able to express his artistic nature and was considerate and compassionate towards others. The discussion diverged to transgender issues, prompted by the discussion of Biff and his feminine nature. There was a division of opinion as to whether this book ended on a hopeful note or a note of despair. What do you think? Further discussion is welcome.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Our next is by Junot Diaz and just won the Pulitzer Prize. It is about the life of a "ghetto nerd" from the Dominican Republic. It is available on Audible.com. Warning: Strong language throughout. We are scheduled to meet June 12 at the Sudweeks. There were some people with conflicts that night but we were not able to change the date.

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

For those who missed book club or those who had a thought they didn't express, this is a summary of our discussion of this book and your chance to chime in. We met at Bob W's house and were happy to meet our newest member, Roger Kaspar. We are looking forward to getting to know him and Ruth much better.
Andrea had a wealth of information about Stegner and his life. She had many pictures to explain parts of the book, such as their car, the Marmon, and Piero's painting of the resurrected Christ. We had a lively discussion regarding Charity's seeming domination of Sid. Bob R reminded us that a first person narrative is notoriously unreliable and that the author tells us at one point that the beginnings and endings of novels cannot be trusted. We are left to wonder if the picture painted by Larry of himself and the other principles of the novel are accurate. We also discussed the idea that according to Sid, both he and Larry were enslaved by their situations, but have learned from one of our previous books, Stumbling on Happiness, that Larry and Sally would have been no more happy had Sally not contracted polio. Bob R thought that Larry was not a very caring husband, but most of us felt that his failings paled in comparison to Charity's treatment of Sid. We also discussed the matriarchy at Battel pond, the Adam/Eve/Garden of Eden metaphor, the experience of going through the tenure process . . . None of us were sure what Stegner meant by the title, Crossing to Safety. What do you think?
Bob made one of Janice's favorite recipes, a berry cobbler with ice cream. We adjourned after 11:00 which proves we were having fun.