Indians on Vacation in July

So, we're in Prague.
In Prague, we stay at the Hotel Certovka in the shadow of the historic Charles Bridge. Second floor. Some of the rooms overlook the Vltava River.
Ours doesn't.

We enjoyed the interplay between Bird 's ennui and Mimi's enthusiasm. Parts of the novel were  laugh-out-loud funny particularly for our group of avid travellers.

Next month the book is Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar. We are thinking of moving this discussion to August 18th at lunch time but it may also happen at the original time - August 19th at 7:30. TBD later on.

We also chose the next meeting time - September 15th at 7:30. We will discuss Five Little Indians by Michelle Good, probably on zoom.

***NB:
We skipped the August meeting and will be discussing Homeland Elegies in September.  This moves Five Little Indians to October, at a time to be determined.***

A reminder to check out Raven Reads, a subscription service that delivers Indigenous literature and giftware for adults and kids.

Books:

• Likeness by David Macfarlane
• The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste
• While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams
• The Dime Box by Karen Grose
• Clara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
• The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline 

To watch:

• Politics at the Movies - Hot Docs
• Sweet Tooth - Netflix
• Never Have I Ever - Netflix
• Penguin Town - Netflix

Saara's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup softened unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 T molasses
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups oats
1 3/4 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Method:

Beat butter I minute
Add sugars and cream for 3 minutes
Add eggs, molasses, vanilla
Beat 1 minute on high
Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt
Add oats and chocolate chips
Chill 45 minutes
Bake 350 for 13-14 minutes

House on Endless Waters

 We agreed that this book by Emuna Elon is special, both in the way it explores its themes and in its elegant prose. The interweaving of past and present along with the mystery of the narrator's origins held our interest.  A new favourite. 

We are meeting next month on Zoom. The date and book are as already determined: Indians on Vacation by Thomas King on July 22 at 7:30. 

After that we are meeting on Zoom (or perhaps outdoors?) on August 19 to talk about Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar. Here's a link to a conversation with Akhtar hosted by the Toronto Public Library.

Books:  

• Swamp Angel by Ethel Wilson
• Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar
• Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
  
• Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Komes du Mez
  
• The Arsonist's City by Hala Alyan
  

What we are watching:

• Shtizel - Netflix
• Orthodox - Netflix
• Navillera - Netflix
• Lupin - Netflix
• Ted Lasso - Apple
• Intouchables - Netflix
• Bonfire of Destiny - Netflix
• Mare of Easttown - HBO
• Sweet Tooth - Netflix 
• Hacks - HBO
  

Speak, Silence

We met on Zoom to talk about Speak, Silence by Kim Echlin. This is a work of fiction that revisits the tragedy of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The book centres on trials that were held in the Hague exposing the sexual violence experienced by thousands of women. The difficult subject is countered by masterful writing. Not all of us read the book, but those who did are recommending it. 

Our next book will be House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon. We'll meet on Zoom on June 17th. On July 22nd we will meet on Zoom to talk about Indians on Vacation by Thomas King. These Zoom meetings will be held at 7 pm.

Books we Mentioned: 

• Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder: a Memoir by Julia Zankarin
• The Opening Sky by Joan Thomas
• The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
  
• The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
• The Liar’s Dictionary by Eley Williams
  
• Piranisi by Susanna Clark
• The Splendid and the Vile by Eric Larson

What to Watch: 

• The Return: Life after Isis - documentary (just played at HotDocs)
  
• Rare Bird Alert CBC documentary
  
• Hap and Leonard - Netflix
  
• The Father - Prime
  
• Indian summers - Prime (PBS)
  
• Atlantic Crossing - Prime (PBS)
  
• Perry Mason - HBO
  
• Lupin - Netflix
  
• Minari 

I forgot to mention something. This spring I've been enrolled in a lecture series about propaganda where the lecturer recommended the Netflix series Five Came Back about the place of film to shape public opinion during the WWII era.  And from my lecture series on religion, secularism and liberalism this book - Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez.

 

April and Olive, Again

 Wanda set up our zoom meet-up again so we could talk about Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout. The book collects stories, most of which are about Olive in her later years.  If you haven't see the HBO serial Olive Kitteridge it is available on Crave and some other streaming sources - and it is highly recommended watching. 

Trailer - Olive Kitteridge

 

On May 11th at 7 pm we'll meet on Zoom to talk about Speak, Silence by Kim Echlin. 

The following month the book will be House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon. This will be on June 17th at 7 pm.

We chose a book for July too.  It is Indians on Vacation by Thomas King and we'll hold that Zoom meeting on July 22nd at 7 pm. 

 Books We Talked About

• A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
• The Opening Sky by Joan Thomas
• Reading by Lightning by Joan Thomas
• House on Endless Waters by Emuna Elon
• Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes du Mez

Recommended Watching

• Us - CBC and Gem
• Hemingway - PBS
• How the Victorians Build Britain - PBS
• Atlantic Crossing - PBS
• Delhi Crime - Netflix
• The Gift - Netflix
• Rita - Netflix
• Hap and Leonard - Netflix
• Fleabag - Prime
• A Suitable Boy - Prime

 Below is the TPL Culture interview with Kim Echlin about Speak, Silence

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March 2021 - nearly spring

 We met on Zoom to talk with enthusiasm about Five Wives by Joan Thomas, a fictional retelling of the events of Operation Auca. This led to curiosity about other books by the same author, listed below. 

Let's hope we will soon be able to meet without resorting to digital technology, but until then it is wonderful to be able to see each other. Thanks to Wanda for setting up the Zoom. 

 Looking Ahead: 

• On April 15th at 7 pm on Zoom - Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout  
• On May 13th at 7 pm on Zoom - Speak, Silence by Kim Echlin

Books we Mentioned: 

• Dirt Road byJames Kelman
• The Opening Sky by Joan Thomas
  
• Curiosity by Joan Thomas
• Reading by Lightning by Joan Thomas
• Amphibian by  Carla Gunn
• A Children's Bible by Lydia Mallett
• The Forgotten Daughter by Joanna Goodman 
• Johnny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead
• The Reason you Walk: a memoir by Wab Kinew 
• Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese
• Trio by William Boyd
• Indians on Vacation by Thomas King 
• Speak, Silence by Kim Echlin

Aside: You can get a 300 piece jigsaw puzzle of Reposado Bar. Cool!

What We're Watching: 

• Gino's Italian Escape - TLN 
• David Rocco's Dolce - TLN
• Stanley Tucci - Searching for Italy - CNN
• Delhi Crime - Netflix
• Pretty Hard Cases - CBC
• Bad Banks - CBC Gem
• Ethos - Netflix
• Frazier (reruns) - Prime
• Ted Lasso - Apple TV+
• Hamilton - Disney+
• Lupin - Netflix
• A Suitable Boy - Acorn TV
• Superstore - Netflix

 

Hamnet and Judith

In imagining Shakespeare's family life, Maggie O'Farrell made the distant past relatable to modern readers. Too bad the book was in such demand during the pandemic that not all of us were able to get a copy before last night's meeting. You may want to come back to it when time allows. 

We have books, dates and times worked out for the next few months: 

• Someone by Alice McDermott on Wednesday, January 13th at 2 pm 
• The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue on Wednesday, Febrary 17th at 2 pm 
• Five Wives by Joan Thomas on Wednesday, March 17th (time TBA) 
• Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout on Wednesday, April 14th (time TBA) 

There was mention of ordering glasses online through Zenni Optical.  It may be something to consider as other options close down in the pandemic.

What to watch:

• The Prom
• Ethos  (hint - way better with subtitles than the dubbed version)
• Small Axe
• Criminal - season 2
• Pain and Glory  

The Tenth Muse

 “I couldn’t help but wonder why so many intelligent men aren’t more embarrassed to speak on topics they know nothing about, or why anyone would listen to an economist on such a matter in the first place. How are they so sure of themselves, and why are so many people so eager to listen? I’ve always wished I had the confidence to speak with half the conviction on subjects I’m actually competent to discuss.”
― Catherine Chung, The Tenth Muse

The themes of this book definitely struck some chords with our group. It was a good choice.

We made some other choices last night, and a few changes of note. We chose a date for our next zoom book club - Wednesday, December 16th. We will meet at our usual time and the book will be Hamnet and Judith by Maggie O'Farrell.

As we approached 2021 we had planned to start in January with The Pull of the Stars, but it has proved difficult to find, so we will read Someone by Alice McDermott  We also changed the time of our meeting to 2 pm. The date will be Wednesday, January 13. 

Then we will get to The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue at 2 pm on Wednesday, February 17th.  

On Wednesday, March 17th we will talk about Five Wives by Joan Thomas and on Wednesday, April 14 the book will be Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout.  We will decide in February whether we want to stay with 2 pm or go back to evening meetings. 

Books we noted:

• Someone by Alice McDermott 
  
• Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
• Five Wives by Joan Thomas
 
• The Student by Cary Fagan
 
• The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See