Ask Again Yes by Mary Beth Keane

This is a story of 2 families who are living in the Suburbs, the dads are both

Irish Brooklyn cops. We see what happens behind the closed doors of each

household. But the son Peter and daughter Kate fall in love at age 14 and

are then divided by a chance incident when Peter's mother shoots Kate's father.

Peter's mother Anne is a mentally ill, abused woman who abandons him during

her institutionalization. Then he is again abandoned by his Dad who moves away

 and becomes physically and emotionally unavailable. Peter also becomes a cop

and an alcoholic. The story continues for over

30 more years when Peter and Kate eventually marry and have kids

and forces the two families to interact and to ultimately forgive.

It is a book about mental illness and alcoholism and their toll on all

the characters they touch.

We do feel that all may end well as our families heal and cast away blame

due to family loyalty and love. Kate would say "Yes" if he asked her to

marry him again. It was a good story of ordinary people and their

marriages and relationships.

Sarah chose "The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse" by

Louise Erdrich.

      

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin

 In January we zoomed to discuss Donna's book "When Crickets' Cry"

by Charles Martin. This was actually listed as Christian reading.

The hero is a non practicing heart transplant surgeon who has a

painful past and he meets with a spirited child who is in need of

a heart transplant. We soon learn why crickets cry and that miracles can occur.

There is a wonderful love story between the hero Reese and his wife Emma.

The book is full of wonderful characters and is threaded with quotes

from the bible and poetry and full of such good people that you have to like them. 

We learned a lot of medical facts about the heart and its functions. 

And who doesn't love a miracle? It was a feel good story.

Kathy Chose "Ask Again, Yes" by Mary Beth Keane for the  next read.

  

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

 We postponed  the meeting till December due to the

difficulty of getting the book and reverted to Zoom due to

the surge in the Covid cases brought on by Thanksgiving gatherings.

This was a quirky laugh out loud novel, a totally original story.

It's about a would be bank robber who disappears into thin air

and eight completely anxious  strangers who find out they have more

in common than they suspected. There are many twists and surprises

but Backman tells us that though we live in a messy ambiguous world

we can turn to each other to find calm and assurance.

The book is as insightful into human nature as it is heartwarming

and heart wrenching. 

We had lots of good discussion of the many oddball characters that is

 truly Backman. Good choice Madeleine.

Donna chose "When Crickets Cry" by Charles Martin for the next 

read and meeting designated to be Zoomed in January.

  

  

The Huntress by Kate Quinn

 

I apologize that I have this one report out of sequence, 

The discussion of this book took place in June and was actually

our second Covid patio meeting at Julie's home.

This book was a wonderful read which keeps the reader close 

to the action of a chase to find a female war criminal. It is historical

fiction and it draws you in, takes old of you and does not let go till

the end. Could not put it down,

The story is about a female Russian bomber pilot, Nazi hunters and a 

young Boston girl who pursue an evil war criminal. Everyone loved

this one and especially the story about the "Night Witches" who were

the first Russian female bombers of which the protagonist Nina was

a member. These were women of grit, grace, love and tenacity facing

insurmountable odds.

World war II junkies will love this well researched exciting book.

The next book chosen was, "The Other Einstein", 

      

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

 

In early October we had yet another patio gathering at my house to

discuss American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. 

This was a story of illegal immigrants who march to the

borders of the United States trying to escape the violence

of the cartels, inhumane gangs, rape, poverty. It is not an

easy story to read as it is filled with violence as a Mexican woman

who is middle classed is force to flee north with her 8 year old son

as their entire family of 16 is gunned down as they hid during a family

gathering, Her husband was a journalist who published an expose on

a powerful Jefe of a drug cartel who had an actual literary relationship

with the protagonist Lydia.

This book got to fame because it was on of Oprah's book club choices.

It was hotly contested by the Hispanic reviewers who claimed the author was

not Mexican and had no right to the telling of their story. Even the

McMiillan Publishers were brought to account for how they chose

manuscripts and whether books are chosen based on the probabilities of

them being purchased.

Despite all the  controversy about the book I think that the take away

is that it exposes the reader to the immigrant situation and maybe they 

see things they did not know about. The dangerous riding of the trains

and the arduous foot treks of thousands of miles where one is most likely to be 

a victim of rape and robbery. It is a heartbreaking read.

The solution to the problem is

certainly a big part of our political scene today. It is not an easy issue to solve.

We had a great turnout. Everyone except for Nancy and Doug.

Madeleine chose Fredrik Backman's new book "Anxious People".

We have to see how to proceed with our meetings as the weather

changes. But as of now Madeleine has offered her screened in porch for

November.  

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict

 In August 2020 we again braved another patio gathering at

Laura Derrickson's home to discuss her book "The Other Einstein"

by author Marie Benedict,

The book was labelled as historical fiction which sets us up to

not believe that everything was factual. 

This is a story of a woman who loved Einstein, his first wife,

who was a brilliant scientist in her own right and who may have 

actually shaped his theories that brought him lasting renown.

This book brings to light the story of a brilliant, fascinating woman

Mitza Maric  whose mathematical contributions to the theory

of relativity is hotly contested. She got no recognition in any of

the publications of works which led to his Nobel prize.

The book takes us into a  scientific world of yesteryear

which was totally dominated by men where this pioneering

woman tries to forge a place for herself.

The book exposed Albert Einstein as an egotistical  male bully and 

frankly not a nice or kind person ,

The author based her research on existing papers and correspondence

which are at Princeton University.

Whether you believe or not I am sure you learned something

new about this not so famous part of history.

Laura got a star for perfect attendance at her soiree, We even had

a Doug sighting.

I chose the book American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins for

discussion in October.

Stroke of Insight

 

In July we braved a patio gathering at Marsha's home to discuss

her book "A Stroke of Insight" by Jill Bolte Taylor,

In 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor who is a Harvard trained brain

scientist and a Hoosier suffered a massive stroke which

affected the left hemisphere of her brain.

She could not walk, talk, read, nor Write,.
She alternated between the euphoria of the right brain and

the logical left brain, recognized she was having a stroke, With the help

of her mother and a revelation that she could use her right

brain to achieve peace and well being she recovered after 8 years.

She returned to being a a teaching professor at Indiana School

of Medicine in Bloomington Indiana, She is also the national

spokesperson for the mentally ill for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource 

Center (the Brain Bank). 

Anyone who is a caregiver or related to a stroke patient should

have to read this book so full of little insights as to what the

patient is experiencing.

This was a truly amazing story about a woman who was named one of

the most influential women in 2008 by Time magazine.

Those who attended were Sarah, Marsha, Kathy, Carol, Betsy, Madeleine,

Kathy, Laura and Nettie.

Laura Derrickson chose the next book entitled "The Other Einstein" by

Marie Benedict.