It's a new year!

It was a brisk January day when we met to talk about In Winter I Get Up at Night by Jane Urquhart. We met at Wanda's with Janice acting as host. Not only did Janice spoil us with tasty treats but she brought along the other Jane who has been missed in recent years. It was pretty special to be together and we marked the occasion by taking pictures. See below. Thank you to both Janice and Wanda for making this happen. Also, what a great book!

We firmed up a plan for the next few months.  In February we will meet at Lynda's to talk about Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons by Charlotte Gray.  This will be on Wednesday, February 12 at 1 pm.

The following book club date will be Thursday, March 20 and we will meet at Susan's house at 1 pm. The book we have chosen is The Wren, The Wren by Ann Enright. 

What to Read:

• The Colony by Audrey Magee
• The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott
• On the Ravine by Vincent Lam 
• Every Note Played by Lisa Genova
• Call Them by Their True Names by  Rebecca Solnit
• Disorientation: Being Black in the World by Ian Williams
• Real Ones by Katherena Vermette
• Care Of by Ivan Coyote
• The Wren, the Wren by Ann Enright 
  

What to Watch: 

• The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh - Prime
  
• A Man on the Inside - Netflix
  
• Missing You - Netflix
  
• A Complete Unknown
  
• One Hundred Years of Solitude - Netflix
  
• Slow Horses - Apple TV+
  
• Disclaimer - Apple TV+
  
• My Brilliant Friend - HBO
  

My Friends

We were all happy to be together yesterday to talk about My Friends by Hisham Matar.  We did note that books very recently published, are difficult to obtain.  Let's avoid this in future. My Friends is a worthy book so it's unfortunate that we didn't all have time to finish it. We noted the grace and clarity of the writing, and the unusual length of sentences. 

With all of us together, it was a perfect time to make some decisions for the next few months. We decided to skip December this year.  Our next book club meeting will be on Thursday January 9th.  Jan will be hosting, but we will gather at Wanda's home. The book will be In Winter I Get Up at Night by Jane Urquhart.  

February will be Susan's turn to host.  We will read Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons by Charlotte Gray. This will be Wednesday, February 12.  

Books we Mentioned

• Reproduction by Ian Williams
• What I Mean to Say by Ian Williams
•  Held by Ann Michaels
• Us Conductors by Sean Michaels
• Sisters in the Wilderness by Charlotte Gray
• Flint and Feather by Charlotte Gray 
• Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
• God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
• James by Percival Everett
• Orbital by Samantha Harvey
  
• What I Know About You by Éric Chacour
• Creation Lake by Rachel Kuchner

And On Video

• Small Things Like These - in theatres now
• Emilia Perez - Netflix

Sour Cream Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tbsp butter, melted
16 oz (450g) cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups (480g) sour cream, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter until it looks like wet sand. Pat it into the bottom of a 9" springform pan pressing until it is compact.  Bake for 10 minutes until it dries and begins to colour lightly.

Mix the cream cheese with the sour cream until no lumps remain. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the eggs and continue mising until everything is well combined and creamy. Scrape the bowl sides from time to time to be sure. Add vanilla and mix again.

Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside (without opening the oven door) for 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool completely to room temperature. Refrigerate well before removing the sides of the pan and transferring the cheesecake to a plate. 

Roman Stories

In a world of imponderables our book club afternoons of friendship and rational conversation are ever more welcome. This time Lynda provided soothing music, comfort food and our choice of red or white. How perfect!

Roman Stories is interested in people and thoughts that are frequently invisible and marginalized.  We discussed questions including how different languages shape the expression of our thoughts and why the author left the characters in these stories nameless.  

Next month we will be at my house. The book will be My Friends by Hisham Matar. We will meet on Wednesday November 20 at 1 pm.

 

Watch Christiane Amanpour interview Hisham Matar.

Books We Mentioned:

• Something Short and Sweet by H.E.Bates
• If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
• Alberto Manguel
• The Tiger Claw by Shawna Singh Baldwin 
• The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny
• A Darker Domain by Val McDermid 
• On the Ravine by Vincent Lam
• Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar 
  

What We are Watching:

• Karen Pirie - Britbox
• Ru - Prime
• The Diplomat - Netflix
• Lincoln Lawyer - Netflix
  

September @ Saara's

There has been a run of beautiful weather this September. We all took public transit to Saara's on a perfect day to talk about The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. Of course that was just one of many many topics that came up and there was never a lag in the conversation. What a special feast we had: particularly noteworthy were the cheese sticks, dip and tiramisu (all homemade). Thank you, Saara!

Moving forward - we already had chosen the next two books but now we have decided where and when. On Thursday, October 24 we will be a Lynda's to talk about Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri. And on Wednesday, November 20 we will be at my house (Marian) to talk about My Friends by Hisham Matar.

Some links that came up in conversation: 

Third Age Learning -York Region is presenting a lecture series. The first lecture was by Dr. Brian Carawana who was very helpful and informative on the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Diabetes Reversal Program was recommended by Saara. It is covered by OHIP.

Infinite Life at Coal Mine Theatre - this is a tiny theatre at Danforth and Woodbine.

My Name is Lucy Barton at Canadian Stage coming in October.

 Book Titles: 

• By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
  
• The Last Doctor by Jean Marmoreo and Johanna Schneller
  
• Death Interrupted by Blair Bigham
  
• Letters Across the Sea by Genevieve Graham
  
• On the Ravine by Vincent Lam
  
• The Most by Jessica Anthony
  
• The Women by Kristin Hannah
  

What to Watch: 

• Kaos (Netflix)
• Ragnarok (Netflix)
  

August and Inspiration

Toward the end of summer we like to share what we have been reading instead of talking about just one book. That's what we did at Wanda's yesterday. There were certainly many titles to consider for the next twelve months. We had a wonderful afternoon sharing them and thinking about the future.  Wanda hosted with one mouthwatering treat after another. The finale was home made almond poppy seed cake (recipe below) with a cup of herbal tea.  Thank you Wanda!

We managed to organize for September when we will meet at Saara's. The book will be The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. We will meet at 1 pm on Thursday, September 19th.  

In case anyone wants to get ahead we are considering Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri for October and  My Friends by Hisham Matar for November.

Books we shared

• The Christie Affair by Nina da Gramont
• Freezing Order by Bill Browder
• My Friends by Hisham Matar
• A Month in Sienna by Hisham Matar
• James by Persival Everett
• Bury the Lead by Elizabeth Renzetti
• Followed by the Lark by Helen Humphreys
• The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
• The Occasional Human Sacrifice by Carl Elliott
  
• Dance of the Happy Shades by Alice Monro
• Learning to Die by Pablo Armando Fernandez
• Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt
• The Wife of Bath: A Biography by Marion Turner
• You are Here by David Nicholls
• Us by Dave Nicholls
• The Twilight Garden by Sara Nisha Adams
• The Fraud by Zadie Smith
• On the Ravine by Vincent Lam

To Watch 

• Life after Life - Kanopy
• Law and Order Toronto - CityTV
  
• You Don't Know Me - Netflix
• Hotel Portofino - PBS (Prime)
  
• Emily in Paris - Netflix
  
• Vienna Blood - PBS (Prime)
  
• A Man in Full - Netflix
• Us - CBC Gem

Poppy Seed Almond Cake

2 -1/3 cups sugar
2 tbsp. poppy seeds
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. Kosher salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups milk
1-1/3 cups neutral oil (vegetable or grapeseed)
3 large eggs
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 tsp. almond extract
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tsp melted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
    

Method: 

1. Arrange oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350 degrees. Brush the inside of a 12 cup bundt pan with oil, dust with flour, tap out the excess and set aside. 
2. In a stand mixer (or large bowl) mix together sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, salt and flour. 
3. Add milk, oil, eggs, vanilla and almond and mix on low until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until very smooth and thick - 2 minutes with stand mixer ( 3 minutes with hand mixer).
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the top is risen, split and deep golden brown (80 to 90 minutes). A cake tester or toothpick should come out clean. Cool cake in the pan for 15 minutes. Loosen the edges of the cake, invert and place on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Poke holes all over the top of the inverted cake with a toothpick or skewer.
5. Mix together icing sugar, orange juice, melted butter, vanilla and almond extract. Brush all this glaze over the cake allowing it to absorb into the cake. Cool cake completely and plate.

 

On July 17th we met in Jo's  sun-dappled "secret garden", to discuss Table for Two by Amor Towles, a book containing six short stories and a novella. We agreed that the author's tales, which were set in New York and Los Angeles in the first half of the 20th century, were intriguing. They feature a wide variety of interesting characters in challenging situations over which they have no control. Hamilton Cain in a New York Times review points out that the these are "morality plays about power, as Towles cunningly weaves in themes of exploitation, an allusion to Shelley's 'Ozymandias', a bust of Julius Caesar glimpsed [by one of the protagonists] on the Ides of March."  https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/30/books/review/amor-towles-table-for-two.html

A couple of other books that were mentioned included The Normal Rules Don't Apply by Kate Atkinson, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Things we are watching include: Dr. Blake Mysteries, Bodkin, Blue Lights, Professor T, and Grace. 

We enjoyed delicious snacks, topped off by a terrific chocolate cake that looked like something from a photo in a Gourmet magazine!

We are meeting on August 28th at Wanda's, when we can bring our choice of book(s) or poem(s) etc. that have caught our interest recently.

Heatwave

 

Photo by cocarinne : https://www.pexels.com/photo/tied-rope-decorating-light-wall-in-room-7260273/

As we are experiencing the first heatwave of the season we couldn't enjoy Jane's beautiful backyard, but sat very comfortably in the front room. Once again, it was wonderful to be together, chatting and enjoying Jane's thoughtful hospitality. 

We all had something to say about The Measure, and brought forward many themes in and beyond the book. These are challenging times for the world, and as we are aging the question resonates: "What will you do with your one wild and precious life?"  How do individuals choose between "Seize the day" and  "What will be will be"? The book explores interesting ideas about human rights, politics and personal choices. 

Our next book is Table for Two by Amor Towles and we will meet at Jo's place on July 17th at 1 pm. In August we may decide to share what we've been reading instead of choosing one book, but we can figure that out at the July meeting when we will have to decide on an August location as well. 

Here is Margaret Atwood reading Dance of the Happy Shades by Alice Munro. 

Books we mentioned: 

• Long Island by Colm Toibin
• The Fraud by Zadie Smith
• White Teeth by Zadie Smith
• Infectious Generosity by Chris Anderson
  
• The Reason You Walk by Wab Kinew
• Permanent Astonishment by Tomson Highway

What We are Watching:

• Fallout - Prime
• Saving Bea - Netflix
• A Confession - Britbox
• Maestro in Blue - Netflix
• Under Paris - Netflix
• The Sympathizer - Crave
• Deadwind - Netflix
• Page Eight - Netflix
   

Michael Lewis in conversation with Amor Towles