Meeting: November 19, 2015

We met at Jo Smith's house to watch To Kill a Mockingbird.  Our social time was short because the movie was over 2 hours long. Perhaps we should think about starting movie night meetings at 6:00 rather than 6:30 so we have a bit more time to visit!  Due to a few members with grandparent duties, only 6 members, Annie, Jo, Judy, Kathy, Linda, and Nanc, were in attendance. 

View from Jo's just after sunset (and before we gathered for the meeting)

As the movie began, and Scout was seen in her overalls and short haircut, Jo mentioned that her hair and attire were similar when she was a kid.  

Mary Badham as Scout Finch and Jo French (at a younger age than Scout)

As is typical in book to film movies, much of the story was dropped due to time constraints. The book covers three years, while the film only two. The story is still narrated by Scout, but she narrates far less, so we don't get quite as much insight into her thoughts. There are also other changes including Jem finding the articles in the tree rather than Scout, Jem going back to retrieve his pants right after their escape from the Radley's yard rather than him returning later that night, and Jem and Scout watching Mr. Radley cement the hole in the tree instead of just discovering it after the fact. Also, Calpurnia plays a smaller role and Jem and Scout do not go with her to church. Mrs. Dubose is only briefly introduced and no mention is made of her addiction to opiates. Aunt Alexandra and Uncle Jack are never mentioned in the film.

Overall, the film focuses more on the trial of Tom Robinson and less on the novel's coming-of-age story.

December meeting:

Holiday Gathering
Location: Annie's
Date: Thursday, December 10, 2015
Time: 6:30pm

Upcoming meetings:

January 2016: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr at Judy Lee's
February 2016: Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson at Christe Gillespie's

Books we've read so far:

January 2014 - Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
February 2014 - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
March 2014 - Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
April 2014 - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
May 2014 - The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
June 2014 - Breaking Free by Marilyn Sewell
July 2014 - The Orphan Train by Kristina Baker Kline
August 2014 - The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
September 2014 - Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
October 2014 - The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
November 2014 - The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
December 2014 - No book.  Holiday gathering.
January 2015 - No book.  Watched The Book Thief
February 2015 - The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
March 2015 - Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne
April 2015 - The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
May 2015 - The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
June 2015 - The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
July 2015 - Still Alice by Lisa Genova
August 2015 - The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
September 2015 - Ruby by Cynthia Bond
October 2015 - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

November 2015 - No book.  Watched To Kill a Mockingbird