At our book group meeting on 11/25/24, we discussed The Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley. Even though this is a YA book, the group enjoyed it and rated it very favorably. Boulley descriptions of Objewa culture and her sensitive portrayal of difficult subjects were some of the factors that were appreciated. One member even rated it her highest rating of the year!

At the December 9th meeting, we will discuss the titles we liked in 2024 and reveal the titles chosen for 2025. The meeting is at 3pm in the large meeting room. If you'd like, you can bring a starter or dessert, but even if you don't, we'd love to see you!

At our October 28th meeting, we discussed The Wager by David Grann. Even though this book is not very long, there is a lot of information packed into it. It was a bit difficult to follow at times due to the number of ships and events. We felt it would have been helpful to have a listing of statistics about each ship in the squadron, their officers and crew, etc. However, many members felt they gained a better understanding of the perils and hardships of sailors in this era.

Our next meeting will be Monday, November 25th at 3pm at the LME Library. Copies of the book, The Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley, are available for pickup at the front desk. Discussion sheets can also be picked up or are available here.  

At our September 30 book club meeting, we discussed Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Some readers weren't sure they were going to like it, but everyone enjoyed the book. One participant said that it was her favorite read with book club so far.

The book club will meet again on October 28 at 3pm in the library's large meeting room. We will be discussing the non-fiction book, Wager by David Grann. Copies can be picked up from the front desk and discussion sheets are available.

Summary: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Lost City of Z, a mesmerizing story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty's Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as "the prize of all the oceans," it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing 2500 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes. But then ... six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they had a very different story to tell. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes - they were mutineers. The first group responded with countercharges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous captain and his henchmen. It became clear that while stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death-for whomever the court found guilty could hang. The Wager is a grand tale of human behavior at the extremes told by one of our greatest nonfiction writers.

At our September 24th Cookbook Club, we featured Ree Drummond's Dinner's Ready! She had a lot of quick and easy-to-source recipes and the participants liked the book. Some favorites were ragu with polenta, pickle chicken bites, and sliders. We discussed the possibility of rescheduling the November 5th meeting but couldn't find a date. 

Our next Cookbook Club will meet on Tuesday, November 5th at 6pm in the library's large meeting room. The cookbook featured is The Complete Autumn & Winter Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen. We'll also discuss whether we'll continue the club in 2025. We are considering transitioning to a Spice Club where members pick up a spice and try recipes. Please attend to share your opinion!

Our discussion on May 20th was on Anderson Cooper's Vanderbilt. We had a mix of ratings on this one. Some liked the author's style and felt it was easy to read. Others thought there were too many individuals included and it was hard to keep track of them. 

At our May 7th meeting, we discussed Fix It With Food: Every Meal Easy by Michael Symon. We had to make some substitutions but overall, many of the recipes contain ingredients that are easily obtained. We tried several egg dishes and they were delicious. 

Our next meeting will be July 23 at 6pm in the LME Library's large meeting room. The cookbook is SkinnyTaste Simple by Gina Homolka and copies are available at the front desk. You can try or peruse the recipes then create one and bring it to our July 23 meeting. If you love to cook or try new recipes, please join us!

In March, we read Michael Pollan's This is Your Mind on Plants. The first two chapters were OK but the last one on mescaline didn't seem to fit. We felt the book would have been better if the last chapter was on alcohol. 

At our April 29th meeting, we discussed This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. We had a great discussion (discussion sheets available here) and everyone enjoyed the book. We felt it was similar (found family, journey, coming of age) to another book we recently read and loved: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles.

Summary of Vanderbilt: Drawing on never-before-seen documents and told from a unique insider's viewpoint, the CNN anchor tells the story of his legendary family and their remarkable influence.

At yesterday's meeting (March 5th) of the Cookbook Club, the group brought dishes made from Jamie Oliver's One: Simple One-Pan Wonders. We sampled 2 pasta recipes and one dessert. Even though the recipes had few ingredients, we found that there was a bit of a disconnect between what is easily obtainable in the US versus the UK. (We all had to make some substitutions.) Even though these were "one-pan" recipes, we found that we needed to use multiple bowls during the prep process. However, everyone seemed to enjoy the recipes they tried.

We also set the dates/titles of Cookbook Club meetings for the rest of 2024 (all meeting times are 6pm):

Here's the summary: "Award-winning chef Michael Symon delivers more than 120 simple, beyond-tasty dishes for anyone sensitive to inflammation or suffering from autoimmune issues... Start with a 10-day, 30-recipe reset to help you assess what your triggers are (flour, meat, sugar, or dairy). Then, turn the page to discover a whole new collection of creative, healthy, super flavorful dishes, from nutrient-packed smoothies to hearty stews and steak dinners to overnight oats that avoid your trigger ingredients. Readers will find a list of Michael's favorite 30 anti-inflammatory-friendly ingredients to keep in stock and a master ingredient-substitution list so you can make swaps for whatever you already have in the fridge. He also offers advice and recipes for reintroducing ingredients back into your diet."

At our February 26th meeting, we discussed The House of Lincoln by Nancy Horan. Everyone learned something new about Springfield, IL and all would recommend the book.

Book summary: Of all the things humans rely on plants for-- sustenance, beauty, fragrance, flavor, fiber-- surely the most curious is our use of them is to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm, fiddle with or completely alter, the qualities of our mental experience. Pollan dives deep into three plant drugs-- opium, caffeine, and mescaline-- and explores the cultures that have grown up around these drugs. He examines the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants, and the equally powerful taboos with which we surround them. The result is a unique blend of history, science, memoir-- and participatory journalism--Adapted from jacket.

We had 5 people attend our first cookbook club meeting on January 30th. We read The Mediterranean Dish by Suzy Karadsheh. Everyone brought a different dish so we had a nice variety to taste. Recipes included Very Green Tabbouleh in Lettuce Boats, Savory Roasted Chickpeas, Greek-style Baked Butter Beans, Fasolia with Rice, and Baklava Pumpkin Pie. The pie recipe was from the author's website https://www.themediterraneandish.com/ 

We discussed how useful we found the cookbook, how the design contributed to successful recipes, and why each recipe was chosen. The group seems to like simple easy-to-find ingredients. They would like to continue meeting every other month. Suggestions for future cookbooks included: Skinnytaste, Pioneer Woman, and an anti-inflammatory diet.

Our next cookbook club will be featuring One by Jamie Oliver. Books can be picked up from the front desk and we plan to meet on March 5th at 6pm. Please bring a dish from the book to share and suggestions for future titles!

At our January 29th meeting, we discussed the Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons. This was a book everyone who attended felt they could recommend to almost anyone. We had tea and "biscuits" for refreshments.

We have a new book group with 2 meetings set for 2024--the cookbook club! Our first book is the Mediterranean Dish by Suzy Karadsheh. Copies of the book are available at the front desk. 

If you love to cook or eat, this is a great way to check out new recipes--please join us!

“Talk About a Good Book” Book Club Discussion Group

Usually meets last Monday of the month at 3 pm

 2024 (Our 21^st year)

Resources and blog available online at: http://talkaboutagoodbook.blogspot.com/

Our January book, The Air Raid Book Club will be available for pickup after the Christmas holiday and the discussion sheets are also available. In addition, we are going to have a few cookbook book club meetings in 2024--watch for more details!