Less

We had a great evening at Saara's with yummy food and enthusiastic conversation. A big thanks to Saara for graciously hosting and for sharing her recipe for Sweet Potato and Feta Patties (see below).

There will be a General Strike against Doug Ford on Wednesday May 1st. See you there!!

Next month we will read Educated by Tara Westover. We'll be at Jane's on Wednesday, May 22nd.

We picked two other future dates.  On Thursday, June 20th we'll be at Janice's and the book will be Women Talking by Miriam Toews.

Skipping past July we'll meet again at Jo's place on Thursday, August 1st. We decided to make this a time to share with each other what we've all been reading.

Books of note: 

• Machine Without Horses by Helen Humphreys
• The Red Word by Sara Henstra
• Happiness by Aminatta Forna
• The Shepherd's Hut by Tim Winton
• Breath by Tim Winton 
• Immigrant City by David Bezmozgis
• First Snow Last Light by Wayne Johnston
• Our Homesick Songs by  Emma Hooper
• Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta 

In Film:

• Umbrella Academy
• Black Earth Rising
• Traitors
• Quicksand
• Special
• Derry Girls
• Amy Schumer: Growing

Sweet Potato and Feta Patties

Ingredients:

2 and ½ cups sweet potatoes peeled and grated
1 cup feta cheese crumbled
5 eggs lightly beaten
½ cup flour
2 green onions finely chopped
¼ cup cilantro extremely finely chopped ( I used more)
½ tsp ground coriander
pinch of cayenne

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. In large bowl combine all ingredients
3. Lightly season with salt and pepper ( I did not)
4. In large non-stick frying pan with some vegetable oil cook a few patties at a time
flattening them as they cook. Brown on both sides…it takes a few minutes only.
5. Bake on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper for 10 minutes.
Serve with tzatziki

March and the lonely hearts hotel

"All children are really orphans. At heart, a child has nothing to do with its parents, its background, its last name, its gender, its family trade. It is a brand-new person, and it is born with the only legacy that each individual inherits when they open their eyes in this world: the inalienable right to be free."

Heather O'Neill has an exceptional sensibility and voice. Her book provoked some lively conversation. Thank you to Wanda for hosting. It was such a pleasant evening.

To learn more about the history of Montreal, Maureen recommended reading a book by William Weintraub. I think the title is City Unique: Montreal Days and Nights in the 1940s and '50s.

We are heading to Saara's next month to talk about Less by Andrew Sean Greer. The date is April 25th which is another Thursday.  In the video below Andrew Sean Greer talks about his book.

Books that we mentioned:  

• Best Canadian Stories of 2018 compiled by Russell Smith 
• Someone is Recording by Lynn Coady
• The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton
• Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
• An American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld 

 And in film: 

• Bohemian Rhapsody 
• The Vietnam War (series on Netflix)
• Yesterday  

Podcasts: 

• Radiolab
• In the no
• Apologetical
• Revisionist History
• CBC Sunday Edition
• Ideas 

The Reason You're Alive

"I think that many Vietnam vets believed that no matter what they did, they would never have any control over their lives. Powerful, faceless men would always pull the strings, so why should the powerless non-string-pullers give a fuck? Playing the puppet while high became easier than cleaning up enough to cut strings and kill puppet masters."

This book was a hard look into the minds of the angry old men whose voices have become so loud in recent years.  It gave us plenty to talk about.  Thank you to Susan for being a gracious hostess as always. It was a perfect evening.

Our next book is The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O'Neill.  We'll meet at Wanda's (note that this is a change, as is the location for April's meeting) on March 21st for this.

We chose a new book for April 25th at Saara's (instead of Wanda's) - Less by Andrew Sean Greer.

Books We Mentioned

• Orphan #8 by Kim Van Alkamade
• Educated by Tara Westover
• Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq
• Women Talking by Miriam Toews
• Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club by Megan Gail Coles
  
• Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

And on Video: 

• Rake
• Bordertown
• Black Earth Rising
• Trapped
• Cardinal
• Russian Dolls
• The Good Doctor
• Doc Martin
• Grace and Frankie
• Schitt's Creek
• Kim's Convenience
• Street Legal
• Sex Education
• Derry Girls
• Life in Pieces
• A Private War

Distance posting

It was disappointing to miss book club again this month, which is the reason why this post lacks substance. Thank you to Jane for sending me an update. It sounds as if you all had a good time at Maureen's though.

Yes, Brother was about a sad topic. Personally I found I've Been Meaning to Tell You very touching too.

We will meet at Mai Bistro on January 10th at 6:45 pm.

In February we have arranged to meet at Susan's on the 20th to talk about The Reason You're Alive by Matthew Quick.

We will be at Saara's on March 21st and the book will be The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O'Neill.

October meeting at Wanda's home

Thank you to Wanda for a lovely get-together.

Saara, Jan and Marian were not able to be there. The rest of us enjoyed discussing Ann Patchett's book Commonwealth, which is, perhaps, semi-autobiographical. There was much conversation, including comparison between Ann Patchett and Ann Tyler.

We talked about Heart Berries by Therese Marie Mailhot, a memoir about a First Nations woman.
 Also movies were mentioned, The First Man, with Ryan Gosling, about the moon landing,   The Wife, with Glenn Close, who has been nominated for an Oscar, and The Sisters Brothers, the book we read.

Next month's meeting will be at Maureen's home, we will be talking about two books by David Chariandy:  Brother, and I've Been Meaning To Tell You.

In January, we will get together for our annual dinner at Mai bistro. Then in February we will meet at Jane's house, both dates to be finalised at December's meeting.

The Tenth of December in September

Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits. - Samuel Butler 

The Tenth of December made quite an impact on us and we had a lot to say about these vivid stories. I had listened to the audio book, which was read by the author.  Below is a video of George Saunders reading from one of the stories Semplica Girl Diaries, so that you can hear his voice too.  Maybe it opens a more intimate connection with the work to hear him read it?  

We tentatively chose some dates for the future, still to be confirmed with the few of us who weren't around last night.

We chose to meet on December 5th at Maureen's.  We will read two books that night by David Chariandy, Brother and I've Been Meaning to Tell You.

We thought we would keep up the tradition of starting the year with dinner at Mai Bistro. The date we settled on is January 10th.  Both of these dates will be confirmed next month.

A reminder that next month we will meet at Wanda's on Thursday, October 25th.  The book will be Commonwealth by Ann Patchett.

Book Suggestions:

• Vinegar Girl by Ann Tyler
• The Accidental Tourist by Ann Tyler 
• Blood Meridian by Cormac Macarthy
• One Station Away by Olaf Olafsson 
• The Reluctant Pioneer: How I Survived Five Years in the Canadian Bush by Thomas Osborne
• A Month in the Country by J.L.Carr
• Yes Please by Amy Poehler 
• The Songs of Trees by David George Haskell

 What to Watch: 

• The Children Act
• The Black Klansman
• Fahrenheit 11/9
• Dead Wind (Netflix)
• Border Town (Netflix)

Others:

• Dufferin County Museum  
• Blackwell's Limited (UK online book source you might find helpful)

Sharing

Jo hosted our August gathering at her backyard retreat. Storms were a possibility but never materialized and the weather was just perfect for outdoors. If there were any mosquitoes they were discouraged by a little spritz of deet.  Thank you Jo for a beautiful evening.

There was no book assigned for August, but we shared what we had been reading.

• Macbeth by William Shakespeare
  Wanda took a course through Oxford Open Learning and recommended the Approaching Shakespeare podcast lectures by Emma Smith. You can subscribe on iTunes. The text for this was The Norton Shakespeare by Steven Greenblatt.
• A Disappearance in Damascus by Deborah Campbell
• When We Were Birds by Maria Mutch 
• The Optimistic Decade by Heather Abel
• In Every Moment We are Still Alive by Tom Malmquist
• Less by Andrew Sean Greer 
• The Girl Who Smiled Beads A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya
• Brother by David Chariandy (I forgot to mention this wonderful book last night)
• Yo no tengo solidad by Pablo Neruda 

Es la noche desamparo
de las sierras hasta el mar.
Pero yo, la que te mece,
¡yo no tengo soledad!

Es el cielo desamparo
si la Luna cae al mar.
Pero yo, la que te estrecha,
¡yo no tengo soledad!

Es el mundo desamparo
y la carne triste va.
Pero yo, la que te oprime,
¡yo no tengo soledad!

• Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines

• Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly 
• The Epic of Gilgamesh 
• The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy

Next month we are meeting at my house (Marian) to talk about The Tenth of December by George Saunders.  The date is Thursday, September 27th.
On Thursday, October 25th we will be at Wanda's to talk about Commonwealth by Ann Patchett.