By Ruth Anne Carney
Are you so busy that you have no time for fun? Do you have very little time for reading your favorite books, not to mention having time to discuss them with anyone? We have the solution for you! Come and join us from twelve to one o’clock in the staff lounge on the fourth Wednesday of every month for some lively discussion and lots of laughter. Sometimes, we even indulge ourselves with special chocolate treats. We would love to have you join us.
Our group has been meeting now for about two years. We have approximately ten members and we regularly get about seven people per week at our meetings. We usually choose a theme such as books written by east coast authors, Giller nominees, women in history, and books about food, etc. Each of us then chooses a book on the subject and we discuss our books with the group. One of us then writes a very brief summary of books we liked and did not like, etc. and sends the summary to the rest of the group, just in case you missed the meeting. Occasionally, we will have a guest speaker.
Here are some of the books that we have recently enjoyed.
The Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
This book was fascinating. It is about two girls with different backgrounds, joined by a contract. It is full of interesting historical details, Chinese customs, and cultural differences including differing attitudes regarding the worth of males and females.
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
This is
a very interesting story about the life of the renowned architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. It covers his whole life dating from the early 1900’s including details of his relationships and his unhappy marriages. Social norms being much less tolerant in those days, his long-term affair with a well-known feminist, Mamah Borthwick Cheney, was much ridiculed by the public.
The Hat Box Letters by Beth Powning
The novel relates the feelings of a woman after the recent death of her husband. This might be of interest for anyone who has a passion for genealogy. The author, who is from New Brunswick, receives several hatboxes filled with letters written by some of her ancestors. In sorting through these letters she finds solace in stories from the past.
The Guernsey and Literary Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Schafer
This book
was enjoyed by several of us. It is set in Guernsey Island in the English Channel in 1946 - just after the German occupation. It is composed of letters written by a newspaper columnist featuring an array of very interesting characters -- all of whom were members of a very special society that was created to console and comfort during the occupation.
We hope that this little glimpse of the happenings of our book club will encourage you to join us. See you at our next meeting!
When: Fourth Wednesday of the month.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 24th at noon in the Staff Lounge. We will be at the table with all of the laughter!