March 28, 2010 Meeting at Claire's

Claire's condo is set at the base of snow covered, Mount Washington. It is still winter in Crawford Notch. We warmed our selves with cups of tea when we arrived at 11:00 am. This was one of our earlier meetings.....and we enjoyed each other's company until past 5:00pm. Perfect day for homemade chili, corn bread, salad, cheese and crackers, and a variety of desserts. Carol's contribution of a maple syrup pie from a truck stop in Vermont was a special treat. Most of us had never tasted this before. Enough about food....on with the meeting.

There were ten of us present for a lengthy discussion of Carson McCullers' "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter". We agreed that this novel was beautifully written. You can close your eyes....listen to the words....and imagine the scene and the characters. How did twenty-three year old McCullers have such depth and knowledge of life to create these characters? We understood that most of it was autobiographical. This was not an easy book to read as the characters were lonely people with little hope of change. You can feel their sadness on every page.

Marlena had provided a list of books for our May book club meeting. Majority vote went to "Cellist of Sarajevo" by Steven Galloway.

Dates, locations, and books for future meetings:

April 18 - Marilyn's - "Main Street" by Sinclair Lewis
May 16 - Joy's - "Cellist of Sarajevo" by Steven Galloway
June 27 - Judy's - Book TBA
July 25 - Diane's - Book TBA

The next part of our meeting had a different format and was our reason for an early arrival. A couple of months ago, we were contacted by Director/Producer Gary Weimberg to see if our book group would be interested in viewing one of his documentary films "The Story of Mothers & Daughters". I take the following words from the jacket of the DVD to describe the film......"This became our central theme, how the mother-daughter relationship changes over the course of our lives; from birth to growing up and leaving home, and on the passing of one generation and the beginning of the next. Through this understanding, the stories of individual women and girls come together to reveal the universal truth of all our lives. The Story of Mothers & Daughters aired as a one hour television program, first on ABC and then on PBS. But this is the full-length version, as we originally intended it to be seen. "

We viewed this 72 minute film with smiles and tears. Being daughters...and many of us mothers of daughters, we could relate to the story. For some, the memories were positive.....for others more painful. Afterwards, some shared their feelings and we discussed the film. I believe that we went home with many thoughts that will stay with us, as we examine our own relationships.

How did we feel about viewing/sharing a documentary? Most felt that they would not want a film to replace a book discussion. When we read a book, the characters are with us for a longer period of time. It is a richer experience.

I personally would enjoy viewing and discussing documentary films with others. Would I want it to replace a book discussion? No. I would like to see it as a separate type of program. I do believe that women....and men who attend book groups would be interested. I also think that this would be an asset to programs planned by public libraries.

Thank you to Gary Weiman for sharing "The Story of Mothers & Daughters". For copies of "Mothers & Daughters" or the companion film "The Story of Fathers & Sons", contact Luna Productions (510)526-4888, or at http://www.lunaproductions.com/

Book Selections for May, 2010, Meeting

Marlena has offered us the following selections. We will select one of them at our March 28, meeting.

"The Cellist of Sarajevo" by Stephen Galloway

"Black Like Me" by John Howard

"Homer and Langley" by Doctorow

"Weight of Water" by Anita Shreve

February 28, 2011 - "Sin in the Second City"

I missed this meeting held at Stephanie's house, but, I understand that the majority of the group who attended did not care for "Sin in the Second City". Several disliked it enough to not finish the book. I understand that it stimulated some interesting discussions. Ann and I discussed the book while in Mexico. We both enjoyed the book.....thinking of it as a piece of American History. It was an eye opener in many ways. Our Thornton Librarian, Selena, loved the book and could not put it down. So, it looks as if there were many diverse opinions on "Sin in the Second City".

Our next meeting is on Sunday, March 28, at Claire's condo in Bretton Woods. We will meet early - 10am to discuss our book - "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers. We will break for lunch and then watch the video "The Story of Mothers and Daughters" followed by a discussion of this documentary.

April Book Selection - It was Marilyn's turn to suggest books. Her choices were:

"Main Street" by Sinclair Lewis
"Mists of Avalon" by Marian Zimmer Bradley
"Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson
"The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" by Michael Chabon

All were excellent choices. And the winner was (by one vote) "Main Street" by Sinclair Lewis.

Patricia has ordered this book for us.