Meeting: May 12, 2016

Nanc hosted our May meeting to discuss Jewelweed by David Rhodes. Those attending were Annie, Ellen, Jo, Julie, Linda, Liz, and Nanc. We caught up on each other's lives while eating snacks and crawfish étouffée.  

View from Nanc's... We talked about the farm on the top of the bluff during the meeting.

Linda mentioned that Kestrel has a podcast called Conscious Chatter. What she didn't mention was that she was an integral part of the first episode! Listen for yourself here: Conscious Chatter You'll need to scroll down to the bottom to get to the first podcast. 

With the talk about the podcast, Liz also plugged Ty Webster's website (Kestrel helped him with the website) called Simply Begin, his "daily multimedia meditation for peace and sustainability." This is the link to the meditation page: Simply Begin

In general, we liked Jewelweed and its quirky characters who struggled to belong, but some of us were hoping to relate to the book a bit more, living in the driftless area.  

"I enjoyed Jewelweed very much.  It was easy reading but I did find I got caught up in 'friending' the characters.  I really enjoyed reading how they grew and dealt with each of their own 'issues' as their lives went on.  It was very hopeful to see some very real struggles people go through and how a small rural community can be connected in positive ways that help each other move on and even have fun and love in the midst of their challenging lives."  ~ Linda Jenkins 

I included this photo of Dutchman's Breeches taken at Perrot because of Annie's numerous updates about flowers in the park.

Annie reported: Great news! I got a call from Ellen McDonah and she'd love to come to our book club! How cool - our first author visit!! She's very excited about meeting all of us. She has June 9 on her calendar.

June meeting:

Book: One Woman's River by Ellen Kolbo McDonah
Location: Linda's
Date: Thursday, June 9, 2016

Time: 6:30pm 

Upcoming meetings:

July 14, 2016: Book TBA at Jo'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

December 2015 - No book.  Holiday gathering.

January 2016 - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

February 2016 - Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson 

March 2016 - Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín

April 2016 - Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie

May 2016 - Jewelweed by David Rhodes

Meeting: April 14, 2016

We met at Julie’s to discuss Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie.  From the moment we arrived, the aroma from Julie’s culinary talents was inviting. The meal and the desserts were as good as anticipated!  Annie, Christe, Ellen, Jo, Judy, Julie, and Nanc attended. 

View from Julie's on beautiful day

Our non-book discussion included talking about the eagles that are attempting to build a nest in the pine trees in front of Jo’s house, Emma's travels and Annie having to trust that she'll stay safe, and Annie’s “DBW” (you had to be there). As Annie noted in her post-meeting e-mail, "Julie and I were talking before I left and she exclaimed how wonderful it is to be deepening our friendships - and I couldn't agree more. Each time we meet we go deeper into ourselves and what we hold dear. Thanks for sharing the 'real' parts of yourselves."

Eagles in Jo's pine tree

It appeared that Ellen was the only one who actually finished reading the book, although both Julie and Annie were nearly finished. The rest of us either never started, or gave up rather early in the book.

From what we were told by those who read the book, Dunia (the jinnia) wishes to save the world from four dark jinn who are set on bringing about devastation. Rushdie makes them responsible for the world’s horrors, such as using religion to justify killing people. The four dark jinn are defeated, and so the world does have hope.  But the world traded the ability to dream for “peace, prosperity, understanding, wisdom, goodness, and truth.” The implication is that the human gift of imagining can’t exist without hatred, anger, and destructive behaviors.

Julie agreed with the sentiment that if we took the religion out of God, people would believe in God.  She followed up by reading this excerpt:

“You will see, as time goes by,” said Ibn Rushd, “That in the end it will be religion that will make men turn away from God.  The godly are God’s worst advocates.  It may take a thousand and one years but in the end religion will shrivel away and only then will we begin to live in God’s truth.”

Ellen felt like Rushdie has an artist’s mind and thinks way too fast for the average reader.  

“This is a story from our past, from a time so remote that we argue, sometimes, about whether we should call it history or mythology. Some of us call it a fairy tale. But on this we agree: that to tell a story about the past is to tell a story about the present. To recount a fantasy, a story of the imaginary, is also a way of recounting a tale about the actual. If this were not true then the deed would be pointless, and we try in our daily lives to eschew pointlessness whenever possible.” 

Ellen also felt that parts of the book were funny and enjoyed the references to pop culture and other world events.

A tide of horror spread across the city and beyond and the president went on TV to calm the nation’s fears.  That night even this most articulate of chief executives looked ashen and at a loss; his familiar nostrums, we will not sleep until, those responsible will be, you harm the United States of America at your peril, make no mistake, my fellow Americans, this crime will be avenged, sounded hollow and impotent.  The president had no weapons that could deal with this attacker.

In general, no one felt like they could recommend this book to anyone, but there are some people who may enjoy this unconventional and funny read.

March meeting:

Book: Jewelweed by David Rhodes

Location: Nanc's

Date: Thursday, May 12, 2016

Time: 6:30pm 

Upcoming meetings:

June 9, 2016: Book TBA at Linda's

July 2016: Book TBA at Jo'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

December 2015 - No book.  Holiday gathering.

January 2016 - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

February 2016 - Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson 
March 2016 - Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín

April 2016 - Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie

Meeting: March 10, 2016

We met at Ellen’s to socialize and discuss Brooklyn, by Colm Tóibín. Ellen served delightful theme-related potato soup and homemade bread, along with other fare, inspired by the Irish main character, Eilis Lacey. Annie, Christe, Ellen, Jo, Kathy, and Nanc attended. We talked about Christe’s aggressive bees, and Paul and Marah’s plans to visit Emma in Colorado, along with a long discussion of possible upcoming books, although we only made one selection.

The sun had just set as we arrived at Ellen's (photo credit: Jo Smith)

The book was set in the early 1950s, partly in Ireland and partly in Brooklyn, and follows Eilis who, as Julie noted via e-mail, "was quite weak and so influenced by whoever she was with." We all agreed that the book was relatively flat, due to Eilis’ dull life, but a pleasant enough read to finish due to it being technically well written. Kathy thought Tóibín did a credible job writing from a female perspective. 

“She was nobody here. It was not just that she had no friends and family; it was rather that she was a ghost in this room, in the streets on the way to work, on the shop floor. Nothing meant anything. The rooms in the house on Friary Street belonged to her, she thought; when she moved in them she was really there. In the town, if she walked to the shop or to the Vocational School, the air, the light, the ground, it was all solid and part of her, even if she met no one familiar. Nothing here was part of her. It was false, empty, she thought. She closed her eyes and tried to think, as she had done so many times in her life, of something she was looking forward to, but there was nothing. Not the slightest thing. Not even Sunday. Nothing maybe except sleep, and she was not even certain she was looking forward to sleep. In any case, she could not sleep yet, since it was not yet nine o’clock. There was nothing she could do. It was as though she had been locked away.” 

We also noted that we were teased a bit with potential plot threads: a brilliant bookkeeping law professor who is impressed by her, an Italian boyfriend who looks unlike the rest of his family, the uncomfortable scene where she tries on bathing suits in front of Miss Fortini, her unpleasant landlord and her unpleasant old boss communicating and exposing her brief "double life.” But none of those story lines were pursued.

It didn’t feel like the character grew through the course of the story, but when she returned to Ireland, many friends and family members commented that she had changed.

“You have changed, “ Nancy said. “You look different. Everything about you is different, not for those who know you, but for people in town who only know you to see.”

“What’s changed?”

 “You seem more grown up and serious. And in your American clothes you look different. You have an air about you.”

Linda reported via e-mail that she "enjoyed Brooklyn and it was fun to read a story of a woman fending for herself in a new country after WWll. Interesting to read how different cultures were meeting each other and breaking 'some' barriers."  We agreed that the most interesting aspect of the book was reading about immigration during that era.

March meeting:

Book: Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie

Location: Julie's

Date: Thursday, April 14, 2016

Time: 6:30pm

Upcoming meetings:

May 2016: Book TBA at Nanc's

June 2016: Book TBA at Linda'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

December 2015 - No book.  Holiday gathering.

January 2016 - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

February 2016 - Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson 
March 2016 - Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín

Meeting: February 11, 2016

What a delightful evening at Judy’s! The evening began by loading our plates with yummy veggie lasagna and lots of other snacks before we moved into the living room alongside the cozy fire. With so many members off sunning themselves in warmer climes, there were only 5 in attendance: Annie, Christe, Judy, Kathy, and Nanc.

Winter view from the Lee's deck (photo credit: Scott Lee)

As often happens, we find out new things about one another in the pre-book discussion. While Annie is quite active, she told us that she doesn’t like gyms. Who knew? Even though two former Physical Education teachers were present, we were not offended by her revelation. In fact, I’m sure Judy and I (and Julie) taught many a student who shared Annie’s feelings about gyms! And, we also learned that Christe played team sports in high school. In softball, she was a 3rd baseman and loved firing the ball across the infield to throw batters out at 1st with her strong arm. And she was bit miffed when Aric’s baseball coach told her that Aric had his dad to thank for his great arm!  

When our conversation turned to Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson, Annie grabbed her computer and pulled up a TED talk that Stevenson had done several years ago. In addition to doggedly working for social justice through his Equal Justice Initiative, Stevenson is a gifted orator, as well. It is well worth the 20-25 minutes to watch it.

https://www.ted.com/talks/bryan_stevenson_we_need_to_talk_about_an_injustice

Quite by accident, we chose this very appropriate book for February which is Black History Month. Just Mercy is a powerful story of those who have been wrongly convicted, of children on death row and serving life sentences, and of malfeasance and racism by public officials. It would be impossible to read this book and not be affected by it.

We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated. An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation. Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair, until we all suffer from the absence of mercy and we condemn ourselves as much as we victimize others. The closer we get to mass incarceration and extreme levels of punishment, the more I believe it's necessary to recognize that we all need mercy, we all need justice, and — perhaps — we all need some measure of unmerited grace.

Although the narrative of Walter McMillan dominates the storyline, many other anecdotes of our flawed justice system are threaded through the book. In 1993, Walter’s conviction was overturned after serving six years on death row.  Bryan and Walter were often invited to speaking events.  On one such trip, Walter is talking with Bryan as they traveled.

“Bryan,” he said at some point during our short flight, “capital punishment means ‘them without the capital get the punishment.

Both in the book and in the TED talk, Stevenson relates his meeting civil rights activist, Rosa Parks, on a number of occasions, and how he was invited there “just to listen.”  And then one day, Parks asked him about his work:

"Well, I have a law project called the Equal Justice Initiative, and we're trying to help people on death row. We're trying to stop the death penalty, actually. We're trying to do something about prison conditions and excessive punishment. We want to free people who've been wrongly convicted. We want to end unfair sentences in criminal cases and stop racial bias in criminal justice. We're trying to help the poor and do something about indigent defense and the fact that people don't get the legal help they need. We're trying to help people who are mentally ill. We're trying to stop them from putting children in adult jails and prisons. We're trying to do something about poverty and the hopelessness that dominates poor communities. We want to see more diversity in decision-making roles in the justice system. We're trying to educate people about racial history and the need for racial justice. We're trying to confront abuse of power by police and prosecutors —" I realized that I had gone on way too long, and stopped abruptly. 

Ms. Parks leaned back, smiling. "Ooooh, honey, all that's going to make you tired, tired, tired.”

Judy mentioned that she disagreed with Stevenson’s opposition to drug testing welfare recipients, feeling that there are many who are abusing drugs and the system. The only reference I could find relating to drugs and welfare was the following, but I’m not sure this is what Judy was referring to in her comments.

In 1996, Congress passed welfare reform legislation that gratuitously included a provision that authorized states to ban people with drug convictions from public benefits and welfare.  The population most affected by this misguided law is formerly incarcerated women with children, most of whom were imprisoned for drug crimes.  These women and their children can no longer live in public housing, receive food stamps, or access basic services.  In the last twenty years, we’ve created a new class of ‘untouchables’ in American society, made up of our most vulnerable mothers and their children.

Bryan Stevenson will be speaking at Luther College in Deborah, IA on Tuesday, March 1st at 7:00. Annie feels like Marah can probably assist in purchasing tickets if anyone would like to attend.  

March meeting:

Book: Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Location: Ellen’s

Date: Thursday, March 10, 2016

Time: 6:30pm

Upcoming meetings:

April 2016: Book TBA at Julie's

May 2016: Book TBA at Nanc's

June 2016: Book TBA at Linda'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

December 2015 - No book.  Holiday gathering.

January 2016 - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

February 2016 - Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson