January 2018-One in a Million Boy
We had a wonderful time at our year end meeting. Book group favorites of the year were Lilac Girls and the Nightingale although overall, we were pleased with our picks. Everyone brought treats so we had quite a feast! We also discussed some of our favorites (and least favorites) through the years.
2018 will be our 15th year as a book club--if you like to read books by a variety of authors in a variety of genres, please consider joining our group! We meet regularly--usually the last Monday of the month. A calendar for next year is available here.
Here's a summary of One in a Million Boy: After his eleven-year-old son dies, guitarist Quinn Porter does yard work for an aged Lithuanian immigrant, Ona Vitkus, whom his son had often visited and comes to a resolution about his son's death as Ona discusses his son's capacity to listen and learn.
February 2017 - Founding Mothers
At our January 30th meeting, we discussed Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly. Almost all our readers absolutely loved the book. The fact that it was based on real people and instances only heightened the interest of most of the readers. Discussion centered on surviving World War II and whether this could happen again. Refreshments included coconut washboard cookies and Sernik Babci (Polish cheesecake).
Summary: Founding Mothers is an intimate and illuminating look at the fervently patriotic and passionate women whose tireless pursuits on behalf of their families -- and their country -- proved just as crucial to the forging of a new nation as the rebellion that established it. While much has been written about the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, battled the British, and framed the Constitution, the wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters they left behind have been little noticed by history. Roberts brings us the women who fought the Revolution as valiantly as the men, often defending their very doorsteps. While the men went off to war or to Congress, the women managed their businesses, raised their children, provided them with political advice, and made it possible for the men to do what they did. The behind-the-scenes influence of these women -- and their sometimes very public activities -- was intelligent and pervasive. Drawing upon personal correspondence, private journals, and even favored recipes, Roberts reveals the often surprising stories of these fascinating women, bringing to life the everyday trials and extraordinary triumphs of individuals like Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Deborah Read Franklin, Eliza Pinckney, Catherine Littlefield Green, Esther DeBerdt Reed, and Martha Washington -- proving that without our exemplary women, the new country might never have survived. Social history at its best, Founding Mothers unveils the drive, determination, creative insight, and passion of the other patriots, the women who raised our nation. Roberts proves beyond a doubt that like every generation of American women that has followed, the founding mothers used the unique gifts of their gender -- courage, pluck, sadness, joy, energy, grace, sensitivity, and humor -- to do what women do best, put one foot in front of the other in remarkable circumstances and carry on.
Lilac Girls - January 2017
At our December 12th meeting, we had a variety of treats brought by members, and we chatted about our favorites from 2016. Most member really enjoyed the books chosen to read this past year especially: The Martian by Andy Weir, Dead Wake by Erik Larson, and the Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani. Several other books were read by members outside the group and enjoyed including Rosemary: the Hidden Kennedy daughter by Kate Larson, The Wonder by Emma Donaghue, and Just One Damned Thing After Another (Chronicles of St. Mary's) by Jodi Taylor.
Summary of Lilac Girls: An arresting, powerful debut novel inspired by the life of debutante turned unlikely WWII hero Caroline Ferriday. Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish Catholic teenager, is nervously anticipating the changes that are sure to come since Germany has declared war on Poland. As tensions rise abroad - and in her personal life - Caroline's interest in aiding the war effort grows and she eventually comes to hear about the dire situation at the Ravensbruck all-female concentration camp. Through Ravensbruck the two women's lives will converge in unprecedented ways and a novel of redemption and hope emerges that is breathtaking in scope and depth. From New York to Paris, and Furstenberg to Lublin, Martha Hall Kelly captures the powerful pull of human compassion, strong enough to stretch across continents and capable of triumphing over the grim evils of war.
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