"The Fault In Our Stars" by John Green

Last wednesday March 14, a small group of 5,

Madeleine, Betsy, Sue, Janet, Marsha and Nettie,

                                             met at MacKenzie

River to discuss "The Fault In Our Stars" by

Indianapolis native John Green.

This is a book about two teenagers Hazel Grace and

Augustus Waters who met in cancer

support group and fell in love. She has stage 4 thyroid cancer and

he in remission from osteosarcoma. They know their time on this earth

is limited and because they know they are like "grenades" who

can cause collateral damage to others by forming relationships

however they still pursue a love relationship which

is sweet and the courtship beautiful. They are very bright

and charming kids who are well read, each with a wonderful sense of

humour. They ponder life, death, love and the universe within

the numbered days they have.

Although one would think this has the earmark of a

depressing story, we found it uplifting.

We cried, we laughed and we loved the book.

It is definitely fiction but it is set in our city and has all

the references to places we are familiar with which added

something more to the appreciation of the book.

If you did not read the book please get it and read it

because it was well worth the read. You too will fall

in love with Augustus Waters.

Sorry I can't get the pictures that I usually include to upload.

Kathy chose a book called "A Small Hotel" by Robert Olen Butler

which is about a couple undergoing divorce. We have agreed to

meet again on april 18th.

CALEB'S CROSSING BY GERALDINE BROOKS

Australian writer Geraldine Brooks

10 people met last night to discuss the book at
McKenzie's River Grill on 82nd street.
Those in attendance were Kathy, Betsy, Sarah, Julie,
Nancy, Madeleine, Janet, Donna R., Sue and Nettie.
The restaurant was not noisy and we had a big group
but I still did not hear all the many discussions
which seemed to be going on so forgive me if I
omitted somethings.

Geraldine Brooks has done it again. She has taken a shard of

history and created a beautiful historic novel about

the first Indians who were educated at Harvard.

Caleb's Crossing takes place in Martha's Vineyard

when Bethea the daughter of a Puritan minister/settler

at age 12 encounters a handsome young wamponoag

Indian youth in the wilds and they forge a friendship

learning each other's language and ways. This takes

place in the late 1600's. The young Indian youth is

adopted by Bethea's father who educates him and he

eventually graduates from Harvard. Bethea herself was

denied and education because of her sex while her dim witted

brother was given all the opportunities.

Caleb eventually crosses over into the Anglo-Saxon

culture much to the wrath of his uncle the shaman

of his tribe and that causes some conflicts.

I missed most of the discussion as I was late but

I gathered that everyone thought it was a great book

cleverly wrought in the old English vernacular and those

who had the audible experience confirmed it.

Women's rights and the lack of it chagrined us all.

We talked about the fact that some women in some

countries still are in the dark ages.

There was some discussion as to how historical the

book was and we all agreed that we like to learn history

with a spoon full of sugar. Julie said there is an actual

archaeological dig in progress to unearth the remains

of the Indian College in the Harvard yard.

Of course we discussed the fact that the bible thumping

pioneers imposed their religion on the noble Indian

whose gods were nature driven. They gave them small pox

and used the cure to convince them that their God was

more powerful. Trickery and deceit was always the

way with the treaties. But so many other books

confirm this.

We think the author could have romanticized the

relationship between Bethea and Caleb but thought

it best that she didn't.

It was a powerful book and we thank Madeleine for

choosing so wisely.

Sue chose a book for the next read. It is entitled,

"The Fault In Our Stars" by John Green.

I was surprised to see it was listed as children's fiction

as it deals with coping with cancer. Perhaps it is

because the victims are teenagers. It is actually set in

Indianapolis and is complete fiction.

Seems a bit different but different is good.

March 14th was earmarked for the next meeting.

"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.