"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".

This is Tatiana De Rosnay who is British and French

She wrote our last book " Sarah's Key" which was

chosen by Donna Smith and which turned out to

be enjoyed by all who were present at the discussion last night.

We gathered at my house to share pizza, salad and a birthday

cake for the December girls who are Madeleine, Betsy and Diane

who joined the group by skype from her warm Florida condo.

Others who attended were Kathy, Julie, Sarah,

Donna S., Donna R. and Carol.

The book has 2 parallel stories about the July 16, 1942 roundup

of 13000 Jewish people taken to the Velodrome de Hiver in Paris,

treated inhumanely and eventually sent to death camps. One story is

from the view point of a child named Sarah who is a victim who

locks her younger brother in a closet for safekeeping. The other

story is from the viewpoint of an American reporter, Julia Jarmond

who is investigating the incident 60 years later. The 2 stories

come together quite seamlessly in the end but we do miss

the voice of the young girl in the 2nd half of the book.

What we learned was that eventualy 76000 Jews were killed

in France and that the French people chose to cover up the

shameful incident though they were under Nazi occupation and

only recently have markers and monuments been put in place.

"We Should Never Forget" is the admonishment of the author

to us readers.

Kathy chose the book "Scottsboro" by Ellen Feldman

which we discovered is available at the library and Amazon.com

for a mere penny plus $3.99 shipping.

We decided to wait till February 9th , 2011 as this is a

fairly large book and allowing 2 months will give us time.

Kathy says not to skip the prologue for there lies the meat

of the story. Happy reading to all and stay warm.