August 20, Meeting at Celia's House

Submitted by Ann S.

It was a pleasure to spend another great summer Sunday enjoying drinks and hors d’oeuvres in the gazebo at Celia’s, we missed Ann F and MaryJo.  Thank you Joy for the Bellini cocktails, a wonderful way to celebrate, have a great (safe) walk in Spain.

The book discussed was Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough, the story of Teddy Roosevelt, a weak and asthmatic child who grew up to be one of the most robust and ambitious U.S. presidents.  The person who suggested this book (me) thought the group would find it dry and boring.  However, although we agreed it was certainly not McCullough at his best, people found it interesting.  Not all finished the book but that never held this group back from avid discussion.  We talked about asthma and the timing of Teedee’s attacks; how the double funeral for his mother and his wife sends him to the badlands where he decides he can do his best work in politics; how he decides to remarry and then never mentions his first wife’s name again; and we all found it strange how his sisters (both married) proclaimed their love for Teddy came first.

How come Marilyn had the only book showing the family tree?

SEPTEMBER MEETING:

Next Meeting:             24 September 2017

Book for discussion:   South of Broad by Pat Conroy

Location:                     Claire’s Condo at Bretton Woods           

OCTOBER MEETING:

Date:                             October 29, 2017

Book Chosen:              When the Moon is Low by Nadia Hashimi

Location:                      MaryJo’s new home

Christmas Luncheon Meeting

Date:                             December 3, 2017

Place:                            Six Burner Café Plymouth – 

Book:                            Will be chosen from Claire’s suggestions

Carol's Suggestions of Books for our October meeting

Book Club List for October, 2017

1. “ Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon” by Marjorie Kellogg, 1968, 208
pages
“An unusual 1960’s novel about three people with serious physical
disabilities who meet at a state hospital and decide to throw in their lot together
at a house of their own. The novel is short and the writing is terse and
understated.”

2. “Not Without Peril”, 150 Years of Misadventure on the Presidential Range of
New Hampshire, by Nicholas Howe, published in 2000, 293 pages.
“Not without peril” is an outstanding addition to the literature of
mountaineering. Howe’s work gives us a masterful, riveting, and meticulously
researched account of some of the most tragic encounters with the wrath of the
White Mountains. These stories are made even more chilling because of the
accessibility of these mountains to the recreational hiker” quote from Donna
Urey, White Birch Booksellers, N. Conway


3. Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox
“Thoroughly enjoyed this exciting book. Lynne's writing style was so captivating I
felt as though I was swimming by her side”
“Lynne Cox's book detailing her long distance swims is fascinating. It is easy to
get wrapped up in her adventures, and hard to put the book down. The writing is
effective and engaging, and the stories themselves awe-inspiring. Somewhere
around the middle of the book, I began to feel that her obsessiveness was
somewhat over the top, and wondered what the point was in her taking on the
increasingly difficult and death-defying swims. But near the end, when she is
finally able to achieve her lifelong goal of swimming across the Bering Strait, it all
comes together. I got the chills reading that chapter, not just because of the 32
degree water.” Quote from Amazon books


4.THE MOON IS LOW, by Nadia Hashimi. 416 pages, paperback, 2016
This story is simply told, in the voices of Fareiba, and her son Saleem
as they leave a troubled Afghanistan for a better life in London. The
story traces Fareiba's difficult life first as a motherless child, and later as
a widow with three children compelled to leave her country after her
husband is killed. Saleem's voice join in as the family begins its move.
The story is heart wrenching, yet the characters too engrossing to make
the reader easily put the book down. The kindness shown by strangers
occasionally sweetens the bitter deal that life has dealt the family, and
shows that there are decent people around. The story is topical, and
gives a refugee's perspective on the current crisis making global
headlines.


We Love You , Charlie Freeman by Kaitlan Greenidge 2016,
the Freeman family--Charles, Laurel, and their daughters, teenage
Charlotte and nine-year-old Callie--have been invited to the
Toneybee Institute in rural Massachusetts to participate in a
research experiment. They will live in an apartment on campus
with Charlie, a young chimp abandoned by his mother. The
Freemans were selected for the experiment because they know
sign language; they are supposed to teach it to Charlie and
welcome him as a member of their family.
Isolated in their new, nearly all-white community not just by their
race but by their strange living situation, the Freemans come
undone. And when Charlotte discovers the truth about the
Institute’s history of questionable studies, the secrets of the past
begin to invade the present.

July 30, 2017 - Metting hosted by Marilyn and Diane at Millbrook Pond

This summary was submitted by Ann S.

While we all look forward to every meeting place, this peaceful meadow surrounded by the beauty of nature is especially favored.  Thank you Marilyn for hosting this and thanks to Diane for the "shade".   I have a feeling there were others helping with set up - thanks to all, it was a wonderful day.

The book discussed was Hillbilly Elegy.  This book was suggested by Ann F.
  
 J.D. Vance's book has been the topic of recent commentaries in various news forms including TV interviews, youtube, book reviews, etc.  Many of those articles suggest the book explains the "why" of changes to the Political climate of the area.  The decision of the majority was to abandon that line of thought and discuss the book as a story of Vance's life.  

Mamaw and Papaw were the main stable people in his life.  With their advice and direction, strange as it sometimes was, he was able to overcome the mess of his young life with his mother and graduate from Yale Law School.  We agree with his statement that (upward) social mobility is about lifestyle change, not just money. Mamaw and Papaw were seemingly middle class (house, TV, car) yet they kept their hillbilly values and way of life.  Both Vance and his sister have been able to move away from that.  Vance believes he has successfully dealt with all the difficulties of his early life.  However we (and this has also been expressed by his sister) believe there will still be issues.

 As usual there was a difference of opinions, it would have been interesting to hear from those not attending.  We always miss those who can't make it.

Wonderful cake Celia. 

See you all in 3 weeks. 

Celia offered a list of four books from which Pat Conroy's "South of Broad" was selected.  

Other books were: 

Illegal Gardener

And the Mountains Echoed

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

AUGUST MEETING::

August Meeting:          20 August 2017

Book for discussion:    Mornings of Horseback by David McCullough

Location:                     Celia's

SEPTEMBER MTG:

Book Chosen:              South of Broad by Pat Conroy

Location:                       ??????    Did I miss something here