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.