Happy Holidays to us!

We gathered at my house for an action-packed evening of holiday and book fun! We missed Tamara, Rebecca and Randi. We represented Tamara as best we could, and tried to fairly allocate her the book club bucks we thought she'd probably earn if she was in our presence.

We briefly discussed I am Malala. I think there was only one 1of us that actually finished the book - most were busy diving into the Lost Wife (which is amazing so far). The feedback about I am Malala that sticks in my brain was that there was something about the narration that lost the feeling of authenticity - perhaps her voice was lost in translation?

The competition this year for Book Club Bucks was INTENSE. Ladies, this is the first year we used up all the bucks I've made!! And Julie even snuck a few home in her purse - which she later returned, perhaps the guilt was too much ;-).
When making the Book Club Trivia this year, I had to reread all the emails and reacquaint myself with pretty much all the book selections. I was pretty embarrassed about my poor memory - however, once I administered the trivia quiz, I realized that I am not the only one with such a fuzzy memory for book details! Thanks for the validation ladies - I was really struggling, because I can no longer blame my memory issues on pregnancy or nursing.
My favorite part of the Book Club Trivia Year in Review is the part where we list the significant things that have happened in our lives - we've had a lot this year - pet loss, new pets, new house, sick then recovered father, potty training success, break up, moves, pregnancy, continued career explorations, trip to Morocco, kindergarten....

And I also have to mention that the most memorable dish this year appears to be Tamara's Salt n Pepper Tofu!!! Congrats Tamara - we gave you some extra book club bucks for that! Melissa also raved about her own spinach pie, Julie was commended for making two entrees and Kim was also praised for her yummy breakfast spreads.

Rather than spending time making the amaretto bread pudding, I indulged in a morning of crafts and made all the members a 2013 Book Club Ornament. It was very rewarding.

Thanks for all the fun times and memories. Book selected: Where'd you go Bernadette? by Maria Semple. Looking for Alaska by John Green was a close second. Melissa and Meredith are co-hosting the next book club at Melissa's new house. January 20th (I think!).

 

So Thankful for Steph

Stephanie to the rescue! Melissa's life suddenly got super busy when they finally found a house - Stephanie stepped up and offered to host us. She made a yummy veggie ragout. We discussed Dry Grass of August. The consensus was that it was a wonderful read (for those of us that read it!). Perfect to remind us about thankfulness.
This was also our last send off for Tamara before her journey to Texas to deliver Kirana. We played a quick shower game, guessing the Caldecott winning books for the last ten years. Everybody got a prize!

Okay ladies - let's have some caption suggestions for the following photos!

Tasty Times at Tamara's House

We all gathered at Tamara's house for some super yummy salt and pepper tofu and curry. It was her first time and last time hosting book club for 2013. She told us the interesting background about her house, and we got to meet her two gorgeous pups.
We discussed Daring Greatly by Brene Brown and What do Women Want by Daniel Berger. The summary of our thoughts? Brene Brown's videos are perhaps the best way to distill her main points. The book What do Women Want should've been written by a woman. No thanks Daniel, rape fantasies don't turn us on.

The next book we selected is I am Malala, to be discussed in December.

Sisterland at Julie's

It was a small group at Julie's to discuss Sisterland. We enjoyed a healthy Italian meal (well, healthy until the gelato came out later). Sisterland stimulated some interesting discussion - abortion, moving past infidelity, twin relationships, ESP....  We agreed she accurately captures the stress of mothering two young children, and that Jeremy pretty much sounds like an ideal husband.  I enjoyed the book but I think I still prefer American Wife and Prep over Sisterland.

Julie thoughtfully provided four books for us to choose from, and we unanimously selected The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew. Amazon blurb on the Dry Grass of August

Next book club: Monday, October 21st, 7:00pm at Tamara's house - a house with quite a backstory! She will send out directions to her house in an email when the date gets closer.

August 2013 Book Club in Review

Thank you for a wonderful evening discussing Wild and saying our farewells to Rebecca. What a tasty Mexican feast too - especially those lilikoi margaritas! (I was feeling the effects of those the next day).

 

Rebecca, we sure are going to miss you!!! Please keep in touch and pass along any good reads to us. 

And the winner was - What do Women Want OR Daring Greatly

Next Meeting: Monday, September 16th at Julie's House

Here are the links to Brene Brown's Ted Talks - 

Power of Vulnerability

Listening to shame

BACK IN BLOGNESS

What a wonderful book club at Melissa's. We sure were chatty. It lingered later into the evening than most of our get togethers (guess that's what happens when we skip a month!).  Tahnee - it's great to have you back!!! We also welcomed a new member, Tamara, who impressed everyone by reading both books, making amazing cobbler and giving us some clear facts about Rat Lungworm Disease. So I guess now I'll only be buying bananas, avocados and papayas at the market - and have to let go of my visions of a veggie garden. And yes, that is a slug nestled up next to my parsley - the one herb I thought was safe from slugs!! Poor Kim, not only did she learn that Guinness is not vegetarian, but also that her lettuce washing strategy is not sufficient. I'm hoping the salted caramel gelato made up for that.

I think the food may have received more discussion than the books by Dinaw Mengestu. Not because we didn't like the book/s, but because the food was SOOOO good! It was a five star meal for sure.  (The book, maybe 3 stars?) Please send me your recipe and I'll post it on the blog.

We had some great nominations for our next book - here were the three tops:

• The Boy who Defied his Karma by Michael Koyama
• Sisterhood by Curtis Sittenfield
• Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Due to our love of American Wife and Prep, Sisterhood won the final vote.

Next Meeting & Book Send off for Rebecca:
Monday, August 12th @ 7pm
Emily's House
We will be discussing Wild by Cheryl Strayed
*warning - since I have restarted blog, I will be taking pictures again!