May 30 Meeting

Just for continuity let us record our most recent plan:

We will meet on Tuesday, May 30 at 1:00 pm at Susan's house. The book will be Rabbit Foot Bill by Helen Humphreys. 

It will be good to spend the afternoon together.

Missed it again

 I'm sorry that an urgent dental issue kept me from our last book club meeting. The following is taken from Jo's emailed notes.

Jane's place was lovely as always, the dogs were very well behaved and made everyone feel cozy. Food was great - some very lovely little samosas as well as other edibles and Tira Misu for dessert! 

The six of us took the liberty of choosing the book for next session - April 25th at Jan's apartment - Rabbit Foot Bill by Helen Humphries - there are plenty of copies in the library. 

Books 

• Ducks by Kate Beaton
• Moon of the Crusted Snow by Wabgeshig Rice
• The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell
• Brown Boy by Omar Aziz
• When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O'Neill
• This Time That Place by Clarke Blaise
• Fayne: A Novel by Ann-Marie MacDonald
• Old Babes in the Woods by Margaret Atwood
• Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
  

Movies & TV

• A Good Person (movie) with Morgan Freeman and Florence Pugh - written, directed by Zach Braff
• Mr. Corman (series on Apple TV) about a grade 5 teacher written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt
• Maestro in Blue ( series of Netflix). takes place in Corfu

Conversation between Emma Donoghue and Helen Humphreys to watch on YouTube

 

Here in February

Wanda hosted our February gathering yesterday afternoon. It was perfect. Together we found glimmers of hope and personal reasons to celebrate in a troubled world. Our book was Here the Dark by David Bergen. It was thought provoking; we might have spent more time talking about it.
It seems there is never enough time. 

One thing we did accomplish was a tentative plan for the spring months. We have chosen a few dates, and are starting again to host in alphabetical order. That means that Jane will be hosting the next meeting. It will be on April 4th at 1 pm and the book will be Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

We chose April 25th for Jan to host, but are prepared to make a change because Jan did not actually have a say in this choice, being away yesterday. I believe that we chose May 30th to meet at Jo's place. I was answering a phone call when this was decided so I may have it wrong. There should be plenty of lead time to make a correction if needed. We did not make any further book selections. 

Some webinar lectures were recommended. Possibly lecture series like  Learning Unlimited Etobicoke, Lifelong Learning Mississauga and Thornhill Lifelong Learning are only improving since they have moved to an online format. 

Books we Mentioned

• China Unbound: a new world disorder by Joanna Chiu
• Run Towards the Danger by Sarah Polley
• Snow Falling on Cedars by David Gutterson
  
• Lungfish by Meghan Gilliss
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
  
• Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
• Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
• The Relatives by Camilla Gibb
• This is Happy by Camilla Gibb
• Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

What we are Watching

• Away from Her
• Tar
• Everything Everywhere All at Once
• The Banshees of Inisherin
• The Fabelmans
• Anne with an E
• The Detectorists
• The Undeclared War
• Truth and Lies
• All Creatures Great and Small
• Son of a Critch
  

 

Happy New Year

 

Goodbye to 2022 - welcome 2023!

Burning Questions

• What are we reading this month? 
• Where and when will we meet? 
• Was someone was taking notes at Saara's in December.

A Plan

The current plan is to meet at a restaurant on the lakeshore where we can eat, drink and make plans for our next few months. We will meet on January 17th at 1 pm at Eden Trattoria, on Marine Drive. 

Some Books:

• Here the Dark by David Bergen
• Unseen by Roy Jacobsen
• Women Talking by Miriam Toews
• Run towards the Danger by Sarah Polley

And a Movie:

• Women Talking
  

First Snow

With miserable timing the weatherman dumped the first snow of the season on our November book club meeting. Not that it wasn't beautiful to see the view from Maureen's place all frosted. 

It turned out that the afternoon was perfect after all, and the drive home was much easier. Thank you to Maureen for your hospitality, and sending us all home smiling. Here's a link to Maureen's amazing Fruit Cocktail Cake. 

We talked about both Milkman (by Anna Burns!) and Less is Lost, and as usual many other topics. 

Next month the book will be The Candy House by Jennifer Egan. It will be at Saara's on Thursday, December 8th at 1 pm. 

Books we Mentioned:

• Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
  
• Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
• Run Towards the Danger by Sarah Polley
• Women Talking by Miriam Toews
• Halloween Party by Agatha Christie
• The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr

What We Are Watching: 

• Belfast
  
• Women Talking
• The Crown (Netflix)
  
• Recipes for Love and Murder (Acorn)
  
• Tár
  
• The Banshees of Inisherin
• The Silence of Water
  
• Coda 
• White Lotus (season 2)
  

October afternoon

It is always a high point in the month when we can meet in person. We discussed A Woman of No Importance, a biography that touched on many topics with current relevance. Thank you to Susan, always a gracious host. The recipe for her pumpkin cake is below.

We missed a few people due to illness. Here are some get well flowers. Hope to see you next month. 

We admitted some difficulty getting into Milkman by Anna Burns (not Hope). Possibly the audiobook is preferable if it is available. I have found that the audiobook captures the rhythm of the Irish diction and the humour of narrator's voice. But we decided to choose an alternate book for November anyway. It is Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer. Check back for an update on the location for next month.

Books:

• Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
  
• Agent Sonia: lover, mother, soldier spy by Ben Macintyre
  
• Just Boris: a tale of blond ambition by Sarah Purnell
  

What we are watching:

The European Union Film Festival is at the Spadina Theatre from November 17 to December 2 and online until December 11. 

Also Nordic Nights is screening a documentary on Maija Isola.

• Chernobyl
• Only Murders in the Building
• Playlist
• Enemy
• Derry Girls
• Sensitive Skin
  

Pumpkin Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 (15oz) can pumpkin (2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

FROSTING:
1/3 cup softened butter
1 (3oz) package cream cheese, softenred
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 350F. Grease 13" x 9 " baking pan. 

Combine all cake ingedients, except nuts and raisins. Beat at low speed to combine then 2 minutes at medium before stirring in nuts or raisins. Pour in greased pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes until done. Cool completely before frosting. For frosting combine all ingredients and beat until smooth. Spread on cooled cake and refrigerate.

 

The Lincoln Highway

The threatened storm didn't materialize. It might have been dramatic to watch, but as it turned out there was no rain at all and we we were treated to panoramic view of the city from Janice's condo. There were other treats of course - nibbles, including Saara's butter tarts, fine wine and enthusiastic conversation. Thank you Jan for hosting. 

Susan will be our next host on Wednesday October 26th when we will talk about A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell. 

On Tuesday November 15th we will go to Maureen's to talk about Milkman by Anna Burns. 

The meeting on Thursday December 8th will be at Saara's and the book will be The Candy House by Jennifer Egan.

Books We Mentioned:

• What Strange Paradise by Omar el Akkad
  
• American War by Omar el Akkad
  
• This has Always been a War by Lori Fox
  
• Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson
• The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose
  
• This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell
• Stalin's Daughter by Rosemary Sullivan
  
• State of Terror by Hillary Clinton & Louise Penny
  
• I am I am I am by Maggie O'Farrell
• Oh William by Elizabeth Strout
  
• Léa by Ariela Freedman
  
• The Arsonist's City by Hala Alyan
  
• The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

Watching: 

• Belfast (Crave)
• The Good Fight (Prime)