First Snow

With miserable timing the weatherman dumped the first snow of the season on our November book club meeting. Not that it wasn't beautiful to see the view from Maureen's place all frosted. 

It turned out that the afternoon was perfect after all, and the drive home was much easier. Thank you to Maureen for your hospitality, and sending us all home smiling. Here's a link to Maureen's amazing Fruit Cocktail Cake. 

We talked about both Milkman (by Anna Burns!) and Less is Lost, and as usual many other topics. 

Next month the book will be The Candy House by Jennifer Egan. It will be at Saara's on Thursday, December 8th at 1 pm. 

Books we Mentioned:

• Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
  
• Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
• Run Towards the Danger by Sarah Polley
• Women Talking by Miriam Toews
• Halloween Party by Agatha Christie
• The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr

What We Are Watching: 

• Belfast
  
• Women Talking
• The Crown (Netflix)
  
• Recipes for Love and Murder (Acorn)
  
• Tár
  
• The Banshees of Inisherin
• The Silence of Water
  
• Coda 
• White Lotus (season 2)
  

October afternoon

It is always a high point in the month when we can meet in person. We discussed A Woman of No Importance, a biography that touched on many topics with current relevance. Thank you to Susan, always a gracious host. The recipe for her pumpkin cake is below.

We missed a few people due to illness. Here are some get well flowers. Hope to see you next month. 

We admitted some difficulty getting into Milkman by Anna Burns (not Hope). Possibly the audiobook is preferable if it is available. I have found that the audiobook captures the rhythm of the Irish diction and the humour of narrator's voice. But we decided to choose an alternate book for November anyway. It is Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer. Check back for an update on the location for next month.

Books:

• Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
  
• Agent Sonia: lover, mother, soldier spy by Ben Macintyre
  
• Just Boris: a tale of blond ambition by Sarah Purnell
  

What we are watching:

The European Union Film Festival is at the Spadina Theatre from November 17 to December 2 and online until December 11. 

Also Nordic Nights is screening a documentary on Maija Isola.

• Chernobyl
• Only Murders in the Building
• Playlist
• Enemy
• Derry Girls
• Sensitive Skin
  

Pumpkin Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 (15oz) can pumpkin (2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

FROSTING:
1/3 cup softened butter
1 (3oz) package cream cheese, softenred
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 350F. Grease 13" x 9 " baking pan. 

Combine all cake ingedients, except nuts and raisins. Beat at low speed to combine then 2 minutes at medium before stirring in nuts or raisins. Pour in greased pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes until done. Cool completely before frosting. For frosting combine all ingredients and beat until smooth. Spread on cooled cake and refrigerate.

 

The Lincoln Highway

The threatened storm didn't materialize. It might have been dramatic to watch, but as it turned out there was no rain at all and we we were treated to panoramic view of the city from Janice's condo. There were other treats of course - nibbles, including Saara's butter tarts, fine wine and enthusiastic conversation. Thank you Jan for hosting. 

Susan will be our next host on Wednesday October 26th when we will talk about A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell. 

On Tuesday November 15th we will go to Maureen's to talk about Milkman by Anna Burns. 

The meeting on Thursday December 8th will be at Saara's and the book will be The Candy House by Jennifer Egan.

Books We Mentioned:

• What Strange Paradise by Omar el Akkad
  
• American War by Omar el Akkad
  
• This has Always been a War by Lori Fox
  
• Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson
• The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose
  
• This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell
• Stalin's Daughter by Rosemary Sullivan
  
• State of Terror by Hillary Clinton & Louise Penny
  
• I am I am I am by Maggie O'Farrell
• Oh William by Elizabeth Strout
  
• Léa by Ariela Freedman
  
• The Arsonist's City by Hala Alyan
  
• The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

Watching: 

• Belfast (Crave)
• The Good Fight (Prime) 

 

 Afternoon at Jane's

      We were down by 3 of us, but we had a great time around Jane's dining room table wolfing down a wonderful spread! Everyone liked Instructions for a Heat Wave, so most of the conversation was enjoyably social. 

     We are meeting next on Wednesday September 21st at Jan's condo apartment instead of in Port Hope since Jan has to be in the city for the next morning. We did talk about a little "pre-bookclub" swim in the the condo's lovely pool, but we will wait for confirmation from Jan!

Books we mentioned:

• Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America 20th anniversary edition by Barbara Ehrenreich.
• This Has Always Been a War by Lori Fox.

https://www.yukon-news.com/local-news/lori-foxs-book-this-has-always-been-a-war-stirs-class-race-and-gender-strugges/

• Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
• Agent Sonya: Moscow's Most Daring Spy by Ben Macintyre
• Oh Edward by Elizabeth Strout
• Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
• After the Fire by Henning Mankell
• Daughters of the Deer by Danielle Daniel
• Sweetland by Michael Crummey
• Out of Mind by David Bergen
• The Winter Wives by Linden MacIntyre
• Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

What to Watch

• CBS Sunday Morning - alot of art stories

Afternoon at Lynda's

What could be more comfortable than a shaded veranda on a summery afternoon? Lynda's outdoor room with a garden view was a wonderful location for our book club. Thank you for hosting, Lynda. It was such a pleasant afternoon!

We took the opportunity to make a few decisions. We'll meet on Wednesday, July 13 at 1 pm  in Jo's backyard. This is a change of location. The book for this afternoon is Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pierce. 

August's book is Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell. We can expect to find this a little more complex than the previous books. Are we ready? The date is Wednesday August 24th and we'll be in Jane's backyard. Again this is a new choice of location. 

We decided to pencil in Jan as hostess for September 22nd. The book stays the same, The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. *Update: It looks like we will move September's book club to Wednesday, September 21st instead of the 22nd. Let's confirm when we are together again.*

Books we mentioned:

• Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
• The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
• The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
  
• Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell
• What Strange Paradise by Omar el Akkad
• Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

 

Here is Kazuo Ishiguro with some interesting ideas. 

The Sympathizer

We had our book club discussion about The Sympathizer yesterday at my place. I admit to being a little rusty about entertaining after a long period of isolation but I certainly enjoyed the afternoon and hope everything was OK. More about the surprise box that came in the post - it wasn't wine in the bottles but lemon flavoured oil and vinegar. How special!  

The book definitely resonated with everyone in view of the steady movement of desperate refugees uprooted by war in our world. This is a dark topic. As antidote we have tried to follow up with books somewhat lighter in tone. 

In June the book will be One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin. We will meet at Lynda's for this on Wednesday, June 15th at 1 pm. 

July's book will be Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce. We chose Wednesday, July 13th at 1 pm but we will need someone to step up to host.

Jo has invited us to her backyard on August 24th. We couldn't come up with a book for this date. Maybe we could leave it open as an opportunity for each of us to share what we have been reading. Just a thought.

The book for September will be The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. I don't have any recollection of a date or location for this but there's still time to figure out the missing details. 

VoteWell is a tool for those of us wanting to vote strategically to bring down the Conservative majority in Ontario. The advice is based on an aggregate of statistical data from various polls, so is only as accurate as the polling industry overall. But worth considering.

Books of Note:

• The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
• Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
• Secrets of the Sprakkar by Eliza Reid
• The Final Case by David Guterson
• The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
  
• Noopiming: the Cure for White Ladies by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
  
• The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
  
• Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín
• The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elizabeth Tova Bailey
  
• Donna Leon's Guido Brunetti detective series
• Andrea Camillari's Inspector Montalbano detective series 

And to Watch:  

• Anatomy of a Scandal - Netflix 
• Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy - CNN
• Supernova - StudioCanalUK

 Islington Reads, a book club in our neighbourhood, asked Marianne Cronin to talk about One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot:

And .... back to Zoom!

 

Lynda offered to host the meeting in April, but COVID-19 had other plans, as we struggled through the sixth wave, forced to negotiate  will we?/won't we? for every event. We settled on won't this time.  Though it was unfortunate to miss Lynda's hospitality we had a good discussion about The Strangers on Zoom. 

Next month, on May 11 at 1 pm we will meet at my place to talk about The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen.  If all goes well.

Books we mentioned: 

• One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
  
• Braiding Sweet Grass: indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  
• Pluck: a memoir of a Newfoundland childhood and the raucous, terrible, amazing journey to becoming a novelist by Donna Morrissey
• Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce
  
• Noopiming: the cure for white ladies by Leanne Simpson

Books we didn't think to mention: 

• Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
• Stray Dogs by Rawi Hage
• In Love with the World: a monks journey through the bardos of living and dying by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and Helen Tworkov
  
• These Precious Days by Ann Patchett
• Nothing But the Truth by Marie Henein

Viet Thanh Nguyen on his book The Sympathizer

March by the lake

We met at Jane's on a foggy day to talk about A Town Called Solace, a book that we all enjoyed. Jane entertained us with wine and snacks, and two sweet miniature poodles. It was so enjoyable to meet and chat.  Thank you Jane!

Next month we will be reading The Strangers by Katherena Vermette. We'll meet at Lynda's on April 13th at 1 pm.

A reminder that we will meet at my place on May 11th at 1 pm to talk about The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. 

One of the things that we talked about was an initiative called NORC Ambassadors. The acronym stands for Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities. This is a grassroots project to facilitate seniors empowering seniors. It is a project of OpenLab, a member of the University Health Network (UHN).

Books of Note: 

• Still Life by Sarah Winman
• Still Life by Louise Penny
• Through the Garden: A Love Story (with cats) by Lorna Crozier
• Fight Night by Miriam Toews
• All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews
• Women Talking by Miriam Toews 
• Oh, William by Elizabeth Strout
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

 And to Watch: 

• Visionary Gardens - Vision TV 
• The Great - Prime
• The Adam Project - Netflix
• Women Talking (in production) 

Katherena Vermette talking about The Strangers

Meeting in February

We gathered at Wanda's for an afternoon of companionship and conversation, as well as sharing thoughts about our book Watching You Without Me.  It should be mentioned that Wanda provided yummy nibbles to fortify us throughout the afternoon and in every way made sure we had a great time.  Thank you Wanda!

Our next book is A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson. We will meet at Jane's for this on March 16, 2022 at 1 pm.

We made plans for the next few months as follows:
On April 13, 2022 at 1 pm we will meet at Lynda's house to talk about The Strangers by Katherena Vermette.

And our meeting on May 11, 2022 at 1 pm will be at my house (Marian). The book will be The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen.

Books we Mentioned:

• Sufferance by Thomas King
  
• The Strangers by Katherena Vermette
  
• The Overstory by Richard Powers
  
• The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
  
• Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
  
• Still Alice by Lisa Genova
  
• Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
  

What to Watch:

• Stay Close - Netflix
  
• In from the Cold - Netflix
  
• Inventing Anna - Netflix
  
• Derek - Netflix
  
• The Lost Daughter - Netflix
  
• The Beautiful Lie  - Gem
  
• Elizabeth if Missing - PBS Masterpiece
  

Mary Lawson talks about writing A Town Called Solace

How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House

The pandemic interfered with our plans to meet at Wanda's this month to talk about How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House.  We met on Zoom instead, and counted ourselves lucky that this technology allows us to meet and chat virtually. Enough about that. Sigh....
How can we complain while imagining the relentless nightmare invented for the characters in the book? And then again there's nothing to prevent us from dreaming of a better future elsewhere for Lala and Tone.

Next we will read a few books that are not quite as dark in theme. On February 16th, 2022 at 1 pm we'll try to meet at Wanda's again - or on Zoom if the pandemic continues to rage. The book will be Watching You Without Me by Lynn Coady

For March our book will be A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson.  We will get together at Jane's house at 1 pm on March 16th, 2022. 

Books of Interest

• The Maid by Nita Prose
• Butter Honey Pig Bread by Frencesca Ekwuyasi
  
• Love Lives Here by Amanda Jette Knox
  
• The Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig
  
• Apeirogon by Colum McCann
  
• Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch  by Rivka Galchen
  
• Little Labours by Rivka Galchen
  
• Pluck by Donna Morrissey
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

What We Are Watching

• The Tragedy of Macbeth - Apple TV+
  
• Afterlife - Netflix
  
• Don’t look up - Netflix
  
• Maid - Netflix
  
• Dead to Me - Netflix
  
• The Lost Daughter - Netflix
  
• Station Eleven - HBO
  
• Clickbait - Netflix
  
• Yellowjackets - Showtime
  
• Hang Ups - Gem 
• Ted Lasso - Apple TV+