"Wingshooters" by Nina Revoyr 12/14/11

Nina in Jamaica

Nina likes beer so she has to be okay

Nina and her springer spaniel Russell

Last night we gathered at my home to discuss

"Wingshooters" by Nina Revoyr. We had 10 people.

The members who attended were Madeleleine, Julie, Donna R,

Kathy, Betsy, Sue, Sarah, Janet and Nancy. After the social

hour with Madeleine's cheese plate and some wine we

shared a chicken wild rice casserole , a pomegrante salad and

some artisan bread which Julie got from Panera's.

We finished off with a great cheesecake which Kathy brought

and some beautiful Swedish butterfly shaped pastry

made by Sarah.

We had all read the book and had a great discussion.

The book is about a half Japanese 9 year old tom-boy

Michele who is foisted on her grandparents in

rural Wisconnsin by her father and whose Japanese

mother had abandoned her.

At first the book seemed like a simple story but is so

well written and crafted that it develops into a story

about love, evil, prejudice, and redemption. The

relationship of the grandfather and the girl is so

well developed that I think she must have had one just

like him to be able to portray that.

The thing we mostly concentrated on was the fact that in 1974

rural Wisconnsin still had such little exposure

to people of different races which led to Mikey's

and the negro couples non acceptance in that tight knit,

closed community. We all hoped that

the end of the book was fiction as it was a very

sad story. We discussed the relationship of the men

in the story who were all "men's men" who loved,

hunting , fishing, baseball, worked proudly at

blue collar jobs and supported each other even

in a wrong doing. We felt that the role of

women was very weak in that town. We touched

on the significance of the dog Brett and what a big

role he had as the only true companion to Mikey.

We can tell that Nina is a big dog lover and has a springer

spaniel today.

I like the first quote she put at the beginning of the

book by Rick Bass

"How we fall into Grace. You can't work

or earn your way into it.

You just fall. It lies below, it lies beyond.

It comes to you, unbidden."

Some people just have it and they are all

around you.

We chose February 8, for the next meeting when

we will discuss Madeleine's choice

"Caleb's Crossing" by Geraldine Brooks who also

wrote "The People of the Book". It will be

nice to hear about everyone's superbowl experiences

then and catch up on what we have done over

the holidays.

I wish you all the best holiday season and hope

you are with the ones you love.

"Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand

Laura Hillenbrand
"Unbroken"

On November 3, 2012 we met at Castleton Grill to
discuss "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand. Those present were
Kathy W., Betsy, Donna R., Marsha, Nancy, Julie, Nettie
and Janet Ittenbach our new member.
The majority of us had read and finished the book
and all liked it. Laura Hillenbrand has a penchant for
speed as she wrote about Seabiscuit a very fast race horse
who broke all records and the hero of this one was Louie
Zamperini who was an Olympian runner who might have
broken records in the 1940 Olympics had it not been
cancelled due to world war 11. Louie was a bombardier
in the South Pacific who not only drifted for 43 days surviving
shark attacks, Japanese bomber attacks, hunger, dehydration,
and storms. He survived because of his will and his skills
only to be captured by the Japanese and imprisoned in
sub standard camps subjected to the most harrowing tortures
meted out by the Japanese. Yet he remained unbroken till
they were finally liberated in 1945. Louie was a chronicler
and so the tale is very graphic, detailed and had many photos.
World War 11 airplanes were not air worthy and 70% of the
casualties were caused by freak accidents and not enemy fire.
An enlisted man had a 50% chance of dying in that war.
Louie comes home and enters into major depression
and alcoholism and almost loses his family and wife. He is
only redeemed when he turns to God due to the evangelist
Billy Graham. Finally when he is able to forgive his tormentors
and make peace with the events of the war and moves on he then
leads a productive life as a mentor and speaker for young
people. Louis has the gift of gab for sure and as he tells Hillenbrand
she would have more to write about because unlike Seabiscuit
he has the ability to speak and loves to speak.
Louie still lives and active life at age 93. His story is
inspiring and though it is not a "chick" book was inspiring to
all us women. My nephew who is 10 years old read this book
and discussed it with me. Betsy's brother who is not a reader
loved it. My son gave it to his uncle who is ill while he was
hospitalized to help him cope with his hardships.
Definitely a good read. Thanks, Nancy for the
recommendation.

I chose a book recommended by Christy Tidwell that I
really enjoyed called "Wingshooters" by Nina Revoyr
about a half Japanese girl growing up in rural Wisconnsin
during the 70's. A vote was taken for the next
meeting to be held on December 14, Wednesday.
Reminders will be sent out and a venue announced.
Happy reading.

"When We Were Strangers".

On september 14th we met at Marha's lake

house in Nantucket to discuss her

selection "When We Were Strangers"

by

Pamela Schoenewaldt.

Those in attendance were Madeleine, Diane, Donna R.,

Donna S., Kathy, Julie, Sarah, Nancy, Nettie and of

course our hostess Marsha.

Most of us had read the book and had many good

things to say about it.

It is historical fiction about a brave Italian

immigrant woman from a small village in the

Italian mountains who succeeds in becoming

a nurse through hard work and determination.

Since most people had immigrant grand parents the

story was very close to everyone's heart. Everyone could

remember a grand parent recalling the old days filled

with hardships and everyone wished they had listened

more to their ancestors when they spoke. Some people

spoke of the emotional visits to Ellis Island which

was the point of entry for many of the immigrants.

For me one of sadness of the story is that while people think

they will return to the old country after gaining wealth in

America and struggling to send money to their families,

the truth is they many never do return and never see their

families again.

The author was inspired to writing the story after

spending time in Opi near Naples. She used to

be a technical writer and also taught at the University of Tennessee.

Marsha served Papa Murphy's meaty and vegetarian pizzas

along with a delicious salad. Since we had 3 September

birthdays she also spiced it up with some cake and

sparklers. We enjoyed viewing her retirement home

by the lake and can envision many lazy days reading

in her sunny scenic family room. We thank her for her

kind hospitality.

Nancy chose a new book called "Unbroken"

by Laura Hillenbrand and a date was fixed for

November 2, Wednesday.

Happy reading!!

"The Lace Reader" by Brunonia Barry

Indiana State Fair bird
The Riker's own Golden Pond.


Beautiful ladies!!!!

Salem Lighthouse

Brunonia Barry
Donna Riker was our kind hostess for our meeting
last night August 10th. She procured 3 very tasty
Papa Murphy's pizza selections and she made a wonderful
tortellini salad with losts of healthy vegetables. We brought
our own beverages and we sat on her shady deck facing the
scenic lake. We had a nice turnout of 10 people.
These people attended- Donna R, Betsy, Julie, Sarah, Madeleine,
Nettie, Donna S, Nancy, Marsha, Kathy.


It seems we had all read the book and mostly all liked
it. What a difficult story to tell through the fractured mind
of a sexually abused child. The protagonist, Towner had
a split personality one of which was her twin who died at
birth. In order to cope with her abusive father she pretended
it was all happening to her twin. Only at the end did we realize
the twin did not exist. Marsha felt scammed while the rest
of us scrambled to re-read to better understand the
events. We all liked the strong women Eva, May and Ann
and their pro-active roles in the Salem Community with regard
to battered, troubled women. We felt that
the author certainly captured modern day Salem and it's
connection to the sea and the witchcraft of old as well as the
unique lace making industry. She also connected us historically
to the shipping industry, the shoe-making industry and the
freedom slave running which existed in that area.
We felt that Eva's house and gardens seem to
have a life of their own and could envision
it all in our minds' eyes.
We talked about how this could easily become a good movie.
Julie had bought a piece of lace in Brussels and we
may attempt a reading when next we meet. It was a fun
summer read with a little mystery and a shocking ending.

Marsha chose the next read, "When We Were Strangers"

by Pamela Schoenewaldt which is about a woman

who emigrates from Opi, a small Italian village in Abruzzo , to

America. No doubt the story must be about her ensuing hardships

and continuing connection to Opi.

We chose September 14th, for the next meeting.

It was difficult to work with upcoming trips. With the closure

of Uno's we will have to find a new venue.

Enjoy your new read and the rest of summer.

THE TENNNIS PARTNER

Last week we had a good turn out at Uno's to discuss
Abraham Verghese's book "The Tennis Partner".
We had Diana, Carol, Sarah, Betsy, Nancy, Madeleine,
Donna R, and Nettie. We were familiar with the Author
who had written"Cutting for Stone" and we knew of his
doctoring philosophy and early training in Ethiopia.

Some of the things we discussed were the relationships in the
book between David the addict and his medical teachers,
and his girlfriends. Though everyone bent over backwards to
help him he chose to isolate himself. We also discussed Abraham's
relationship with his wife. It seems like doctoring sometimes
leaves little time for personal relationships as it is a noble yet
demanding career. A good doctor serves humanity and that
satisfaction alone should be enough for some.

There was a reference to Occam's razor which we had seen in
another book "The Straight Man". Occams razor is the simplest
way of connecting and explaining thing. This was mentioned
in relationship to a medical diagnosis.

David was such a likeable character who had just about everything
going for him yet he chose cocaine above all else. We had to agree
that addictions are so difficult to understand and maybe the chemical
force has a big part in causing addiction as well as the myriad
emotional aspects. It is a very mystifying thing to wrap your head
around as to why a person chooses the drug.
But at the end of the day the addict is responsible for himself and other
people are not. That is why it is so frustrating to deal with an addict.

Julie chose "The Lace Reader" by Brumonia Barry which is about a
woman who returns to Salem Massachussets to a quirky family
with old money. I started it and so far am loving it.

The next meeting is scheduled for August 10 which is a Wednesday.

Born On A Blue Day

On May 19, last thursday we held the book club meeting

on my deck. It was to be held come rain or shine and the weather

cooperated. We had quite the gathering with 9 people showing up.

Those who attended were Kathy W., Madeleine, Diana, Julie, Marsha,

Sarah, Betsy and Donna S.

Most of us had read the book "Born On a Blue Day" by Daniel Tammet

who is an autistic savant, high functioning person with Asberger's syndrome.

It was a very interesting book which takes you into the world of a person

who is similar to the "Rainman". Daniel was the eldest in a family of

nine whose parents were on British welfare. He has synesthesia which

means he sees everything visually with shapes and colors.

His 1st love was math and he has an amazing aptitude for math though
his tedious explanations of the subject tended to bog the rest of us

non math people down. He branched out into languages and worked

very hard at overcoming his social disabilities. He has managed to lead

a very productive life finding happiness in a personal relationship

and success in financial independence. He can learn a language in one

day and has a website that teaches people languages. He speaks at

universities and has been on numerous talk shows and television.

I admire him because he has had to overcome all his lack of emotional

understanding of people and is able to live a normal life. He thinks that

he has experienced many moments of perfect happiness.

Diana took her missed turn and recommended another book by

Abraham Verghese who wrote the ever popular :Cutting For Stone".

This one is called , "The Tennis Partner".

I believe we chose June 23 ,Thursday to be our next meeting.

Please correct me if I am worng.

Have great matches this summer and enjoy lazy days reading

in your favorite spots.

On Wednesday March 16, St. Patrick's Day's eve,

4 people were able to attend the book club meeting

held at Uno's. Madeleine, Kathy, Sarah and I were

present to discuss Louise Erdrich's book "Shadow Tag"

which was chosen by Sarah.

We had read the book and we had lots of

discussion about the 2 main characters, Irene

and Gil who shared a love-hate relationship

and created a totally dysfunctional setting

for their 3 children. None of us cared for either

Irene or Gil. We felt that they both manipulated each

other. Irene even created a 2nd dairy which she knew her

husband was reading and planted all sorts of hurtful lies

inside even going so far as to deny him the paternity of his

3 children when she invented false lovers. He in turn used

her to create his art by painting her in almost pornographic

situations and knowing she was alcoholic used the

drug to seduce and manipulate her.

We laughed at the scene when they are fired by their

therapist. These 2 people clearly should have

divorced but seemingly were unable to live

with or without each other. Too bad they had to

involve their 3 children who certainly suffered in

this domestic drama. So we are "over it" and will move

on. I might try to visit Louise's book store in Minnesota

at the end of the month when I am visiting my

grandson. She has written 13 other books so is

very prolific and she is a good writer.

Betsy offered 3 books for her choice and we voted on

them and chose a book called "Born On A Blue Day",

written by Daniel Tammet and is told through the eyes of

an autistic savant who is a high functioning mathematical

genius. I started it and so far am really liking it.

We decided to try May 11th for the next meeting.

Happy reading and hope to see more people when next

we meet.!

SCOTTSBORO by ELLEN FELDMAN

On February 9, 2011 we met at Uno's to discuss
"Scottboro" a novel written in 2008 by Ellen Feldman.
Eight brave souls came out in the ice and cold and they
were Kathy W. (who chose the book), Julie,Betsy, Carol,
Donna, Madeleine, Sarah and yours truly.
We had all read the book and enjoyed the author's style
of writing in recreating a historic , detailed incident of a
false rape accusation of 9 black men in the deep south during
the depression by 2 white girls Ruby Bates and Victoria Price.

Feldman masterfully unfolds the fabric of the times in the 1932
Jim Crow South where prejudice existed not only against
blacks but against Jews, women and poor whites. It is a legal
thriller and a fictional account of a major miscarriage of justice.
She also developed the character of Ruby Bates and her relationship
with the New York reporter Alice.


We discussed the fact that in 1932 this prejudice existed and that later
in the 1960's it still existed. We talked about Martin Luther King and
his role in changing the attitude of the south. We talked about the
corruption of the legal system and the fact that the case went to the
Supreme court 3 times. We also talked about an alleged Broadway play
written by one of the characters. I could not verify that there was really
one at that time but there is certainly a musical that ran in 2010.

Kudos to Kathy for choosing well.
Sarah's choice was "Shadow Tag" by Louise Erdrich.
It is about a dysfunctional family and double diaries.
Sounds intriguing. March 16 is the date to mark on
your calendars.





Her are Ruby and Victoria





Ruby all dolled up in court.

Ellen Feldman also wrote 2 other

novels, "Lucy" and "The Boy Who

Loved Anne Frank".