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

Remarkably Bright Creatures

 

It is always a treat to spend the afternoon together, chatting about this and that. The subject of octopuses (sic) is a first for us, and it is certainly unusual that one of the main characters of a book is an empathetic octopus. Susan provided a perfect selection of snacks - without any seafood, thank goodness. 

We also had quite a bit of conversation about Saara's new glucose monitor, and all the ways our devices are helping us to stay healthy. By the way, the Ministry of Health emailed today to encourage me to have the spring COVID-19 vaccination. Just saying...

Our next book is The Measure by Nikki Erlick. We will meet a Jane's on Wednesday, June 19th to talk about it.

Not everyone is around in July but we have planned to meet anyway, at Jo's. We chose the new book, Table for Two by Amor Towles.  The tentative date is July 17th, pending confirmation.  

Books: 

• Fayne by Ann-Marie MacDonald
• Table for Two by Amor Towles
• Glorious Frazzled Beings by Angélique Lalonde
• The Seventh Son by Sebastian Faulks
• This is Happiness (audiobook version) by Naill Williams
• The Milkman (audiobook version) by Anna Burns
  
• Verity by Colleen Hoover

On Film:

• A Gentleman in Moscow - Prime/Paramount
  
• The Sympathizer - HBO/Crave
  
• Ripley - Netflix
  
• The Old Man and the Pool - Netflix (about living a healthy life - see above)
  

Held Here at Home

Today we met at my place to talk about Held by Anne Michaels. The book is challenging but rewarding with vivid scenes that stay with you and sentences that make you stop and wonder:  "The shadow of a bird moved across the hill; he could not see the bird."  or "We can only think about the unknown in terms of the known."

We made decisions about the next two months.  On Tuesday May 7th we'll meet at Susan's to talk about Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. 

The book for June will be The Measure by Nikki Erlick. We will meet a Jane's on Wednesday, June 19th to talk about it. 

Some Books We Like

• Death Interrupted: How Modern Medicine is Complicating the Way We Die by Blair Bigham, MD
  
• The Measure by Nikki Erlick
• The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
  
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
• Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
  
• The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
• Followed by the Lark by Helen Humphreys 

Thinking about an octopus as a character in our next book here are a few videos to dig deeper.