Blackwater Lightship

We found much to praise in this deeply compassionate book by Colm Toibin.  We were also impressed with the Hallmark video that was quite true to the novel. The whole production was excellent, though we found the music unnecessarily oppressive.

Susan hosted, and as usual it was lovely. Here's the recipe for her lemon tart. You don't need a Meyer lemon - it may be even better with a plain one. Everyone loved it last night. Yum!

We had already planned to talk about The Dutch House by Ann Patchett next month.  We'll meet on Thursday, March 26th at Jane's.

Planning ahead we decided to read Heroes in My Head: a memoir by Judy Rebick. The date will be Thursday, April 23rd and we'll meet at Janice's. 

After that we plan to be at Jo's on Thursday, May 28th to talk about The Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende.

Books we mentioned: 

• Peace and Good Order: the case for indigenous Justice in Canada by Harold R. Johnson
• All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
• Transit by Rachel Cusk
• Greenwood by Michael Christie
• Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
• The Accomplice by Joseph Kanon
• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
• Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow
• Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

And on film:

• The Long Shot (Netflix)
• Remember 
• Bombshell
• Parasite

Many books

We had a superb evening at Wanda's. Our original plan was to talk about Blackwater Lightship but the book had proved difficult to find.  So we had a sharing session instead and talked about what we have been reading recently.  We also went ahead with some plans for the next few months. Thank you so much to Wanda for hosting another lovely evening.

In January we will follow our new tradition of starting the year by meeting for dinner at a restaurant instead of holding book club. It was easy to choose Mai Bistro again, and we'll meet there at 6 pm on January 23, 2020. 

The following month we'll get back to Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín again when we hope that more people will have had a chance to read it.  This will be at Susan's place on February 27th.

On March 26th we'll be at Jane's and the book will be The Dutch House by Ann Patchett.  I've been thoroughly enjoying the audiobook read by Tom Hanks that can be downloaded from the Toronto Public Library.

Books: 

• Something for Everyone by Lisa Moore (also by Lisa Moore - Alligator, February, Caught) 
• Suzanne by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette (translation by Rhonda Mullins)
• The Book of Eve by Constance Beresford-Howe (also Prospero's Daughter)
• Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo 
• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
• Outline by Rachel Cusk (also Transit, Kudos) 
• Ragged Company by Richard Wagamese (also Indian Horse)
• Reproduction by Ian Williams 
• Testament by Margaret Atwood
• The Innocents by Michael Crummey 

Blackwater Lightship: the movie

Time travel is real ... We do it all the time. Moment to moment, minute to minute.

We were small in number (3) but mighty in opinions when we met at Maureen's to discuss Ali Smith's Autumn. The book was well-received; a story about time, it was timely, having been published shortly after the Brexit vote.  Post-Brexit, when "all across the country, there was misery and rejoicing..." was the setting for Elisabeth and Daniel's friendship. We agreed that the story was well-told and filled with memorable characters. There are more books that make up part of this seasonal quartet and Jo has read Winter and Spring; Summer has yet to be published.

The next meeting will take place on Thursday, Dec. 5 at Wanda's home. We'll talk about Colm Toibin's book Blackwater Lightship.

The crowd (!) enjoyed the appetizer I made: endive with smoked trout and herbed cream cheese. I changed the recipe by using smoked trout pate instead of smoked trout fillets with the herbed cream cheese. Yummy and easy.

Endive with smoked trout and herbed cream cheese

Madame Victoria

There were only positive reactions to the stories in Madame Victoria. You could say that the themes resonated with us even if the meaning of some recurring motifs was a mystery. Possibly, in view of the unresolved nature of Madame Victoria’s death, the ambiguity was intentional?

We met at Saara's home since Maureen was away.  Sincere thanks to Saara for providing us with such a relaxing and pleasant evening after switching with Maureen. 

Although there were a few people missing, we had no choice but to make some (tentative) plans for the next few months. After some back-and-forth it now seems that our next book club will be on Tuesday, November 5th. The book in November will be Autumn by Ali Smith.

On Thursday, December 5th we plan to meet at Wanda's to talk about The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín.
 

Please note that these dates are not confirmed.  If anyone would like to suggest a change, please do so in a group email and if necessary I'll edit this posting.  

Other Books: 

• The Seasonal Quartet (Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer) by Ali Smith
• Sophie and Cecilia by Katherine Ashenburg  
• The Innocents by Michael Crummey
• Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club by Megan Gail Coles  
• Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada's Chinese Restaurants by Ann Hui   
• Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips   
• Akin by Emma Donoghue  
• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett  
• The Ditch by Herman Koch   
• The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín
• Transcription by Kate Atkinson
• The Overstory by Richard Powers   

 Movies:

• Jojo Rabbit
• Parasite 

 

Zalika Reid-Benta

Book Launch - Rogene (mom) brought the amazing cake

Having Zalika join us last night was a departure for our book club, and particularly thrilling since she had just found out this week that she was on the long list for the Giller prize.  We had many questions, and Zalika was patient in explaining all about the creative process, and the politics of publishing.  She wasn't feeling 100%, which makes it more remarkable that she gave us so much of her time and energy. Thank you so much Zalika!!

Morning-after regrets hit me though, as soon as I sat down to blog: we forgot to take selfies with Zalika! Arghhh!

A reminder that we are meeting next on Thursday, October 3rd at Maureen's to talk about Madame Victoria by Catherine Leroux.

I don't recall discussing any other books last night.

Maureen let us know about the documentary New Homeland which is available to view now on Crave TV.

NEW HOMELAND OFFICIAL TRAILER from Joe Ortiz on Vimeo.

p.s. I've just watched Wildlife on Netflix and recommend it for some great performances.

Jo's Garden Hideaway

Thanks to Jo we had the perfect location for a warm summer evening, lots of tasty snacks and warm hospitality.  As a bonus, the mosquitoes stayed away.  Thank you Jo!

This was the book club evening that we had set aside just to share what we've been reading, etc. The list is below.

Zalika Reid-Benta
credit: The Toronto Star

Remember that next month we'll be at my place on Thursday, September 5th to talk about Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta, who has agreed to join us for this evening!!

After that the next book club will be on Thursday, October 3rd when we'll meet at Maureen's to talk about Madame Victoria by Catherine Leroux.

Books:

• The Dinner by Herman Koch
• The Ditch by Herman Koch
• Where the Crawdad Sings by Delia Owens
• The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
• Jackson Lamb series by Mick Herron
• Transcription by Kate Atkinson
• Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
• Jackson Brody series by Kate Atkinson
• A Day in the Life of the Smiling Woman: the collected stories by Margaret Drabble
• The October List by Jeffery Deaver
• The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin
• Milkman by Anna Burns (audiobook)
• Celia's Song by Lee Maracle
• A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena
• Full Disclosure by Beverly McLachlin
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

Film: 

• The Guilty (in Danish on Netflix)
• Rocketman
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• Yesterday
• Late Night 

Music:

• The Free Label
• Fraser/Daley (at Castro's Lounge in the beach or Inter Steer Tavern on Roncesvalles) 

Women talking about Women Talking

The rain never let up all evening, contributing to the cozy atmosphere on Janice's porch.  We were able to enjoy another book club with nobody missing - always a happy bonus on book club evenings. Thank you to Janice for being such a gracious hostess. And here is the sun this morning.

We will meet next on Thursday, August 1st at Jo's house. No book has been assigned. We'll share with each other what we have been reading.

Following that will be a discussion of Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta. This will be at my house (Marian) on Thursday, September 5th.

We also set aside Thursday, October 3rd when we'll meet at Maureen's to talk about Madame Victoria by Catherine Leroux.

Books of Note: 

• Wallander mysteries by Henning Mankell
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
• Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga
• The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston
• The Overstory by Richard Powers
• Chop Suey Nation by Anna Hui
• Midnight at the Dragon Cafe by Judy Fong Bates
• Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
• Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper
• The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson
• French Exit by Patrick DeWitt
• Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal
• Something for Everyone by Lisa Moore

Recommended: 

• to watch: Pure series on CBC
• to eat: Phipps baked goods 
• to eat: Mad Mexican guacamole