August 15 at Rosemary's

Book club was held at Rosemary's on Thursday 8/15.

I tried to keep it simple with mini sandwiches , pasta salad ,and cocktail meatballs, with a variety of snacks and desserts. 
Not simple enough but oh well.

The book we discussed was "Karolina's Twins" by Ronald H.Bolson.

Most everyone liked the book.  I had been a little reluctant in choosing it, as we had read various books in relation to WW11 and the Holocaust.  I find interest, intrigue, and curiosity in events prior to the war and occurrence resulting from it.  A true battle against evil. It reminds me that mankind has such a capacity to serve and be good, and such a capacity for evil.

The book discussion was lively and many questions were raised.

Why did Lena, In her 80s, wait 70 years to search for Karolina's Twins? Why didn't she share this with her husband, David?

He never knew about the babies.  A question was asked, "why so much hatred, To this day, towards the Jewish population?

Some questions were answered and others remain a mystery and conundrum.
    

Let's not forget the events that took place and pray we learn from them.  Let's hope kindness,compassion, understanding, tolerance,education, guide us in a positive humanitarian direction so this will not occur again!

Thanks for coming and sharing a meal and discussion.

Grace and Pat we missed you!  Next book club is 9/19 at Sharon's,and the book is "Educated".

If any of you are interested, Ronald Bolson wrote the following books also:

Once We Were Brothers

The Girl from Berlin

Saving Sophie

The Trust

Love Roe

July 18 Meeting at KAthy's

Thanks everyone for coming to my house for bookclub.  It was a steamy night but we made the best of it.  We also had a special guest, Doloras, Dricka’s cousin.

We started with crab salad, garden salad and three bean salad, apparently a good day for salads.  Sylvia brought veggie platter with crab dip, Dricka  yummy cookies, Roe pastries  and Pam  wine.  I also made some lemonade pie which is always good for hot weather.

“Before we were Yours” by Lisa Wingate was a good read. All seemed to think it was well written and disclosed important information about the horrid sale of children under the guise of giving them a better home.  Poor people were duped by Georgia Train to give up their children who basically sold them to wealthy clients and this went on from 1920’s until 1950.  I passed around newspaper clipping showing “ads”  offering these children as “Christmas Baby”,  “Your for the Asking” and “Wants a home”.  We discussed our personal experience with adoption and foster care.  I had a childhood friend whose parents took in foster children and had to give them up after 2 years.  I could  never understand how they could do that.  Louisa mentioned that her brother who had 2 biological children adopted 7 children.  That’s amazing.  Carol related that someone she knows is now in the process of adopting 2 siblings. Edna shared with us that she and Glen tried to be foster parents but were only given older teen children who were too close in age with herself.  Not an ideal situation.

After our discussion we walked over to the park for a concert with Nathan Bartis Band.  They were very good but it was very very hot.  We were sweating just sitting in the stand. We left after they played “Country Roads”, perfect.

Our next meeting is August 15 at Roe’s house and will read "Karolinas Twins" by Ronald Balson.

Kathy G

June 20 Meeting at Pam's

We read "The Tale Teller" by Anne Hillerman.  She writes about the same characters as her father, Tony Hillerman.  I find him to be a better writer.  I did not like the book that well and most everyone felt the same,  We did have a good discussion on the Native Americans of today.  Their lives are still very hard, unless they leave the reservation.  Anne hillerman is a journalist in New Mexico and a New York Times best selling author.  I would try another of her books go see if I like it better.  As usual we had a nice time and enough to eat.

Pam

May 16 Meeting at Louisa's

We began the evening with marinated Greek olives, hummus, and shirazi salad with pita from Alfredo's Mediterranean Grill. While sampling the food and having some wine we caught up with each other.

     Dinner was an assorted sandwich platter from Royalicious with a Greek salad from Alfredo's. Elizabeth and I selected these food items since a lot of the book was in New York City. We felt maybe it resembled a New York deli.

    The book I chose was "Bossypants" by Tina Fey. I wanted to read something funny and lighter because our last 2 books were so heart wrenching. I liked the book. I enjoyed the chapter on how the Fall lineup of shows are chosen. I could relate to her honeymoon cruise chapter. I liked how she described the cruise. The group did not like the book. We talked some about how people have different senses of humor.

     For dessert we had cannolis from Royalicious and 2 kinds of homemade brownies.

     We had some trouble getting my table back together after the leaf was removed. The problem has been solved and the table is back together.

We missed you Sharon and Pam.

Louisa

April 11 Meeting at Pat's

We missed Pam.  Ten of us had a great evening sitting at our makeshift square table.  Lasagna and Sylvia's salad brought happy plates!  Rugelach was a hit.  All enjoyed the book "The Invisible Wall" by H. Berstein.  Discussion centered around the angst of hatred and misunderstanding regarding differing beliefs.   I think about the grackles and try to remember "...where there is hatred, let me sow love."

Pat

March 21 Meeting at Carol's

Tonight we gathered together at Carol's for a pot luck Irish dinner.  Everyone brought a little something  including the mandatory Irish fare of corned beef, cabbage,  potatoes and Soda Bread.  Desserts of course were plentiful.

We read "The Crawdads Sing" by Delier Owens selected by Grace.  In Owens’s evocative debut, Kya Clark is a young woman growing up practically on her own in the wild marshes outside Barkley Cove, a small coastal community in North Carolina. In 1969, local lothario Chase Andrews is found dead, and Kya, now 23 and known as the “Marsh Girl,” is suspected of his murder. As the local sheriff and his deputy gather evidence against her, the narrative flashes back to 1952 to tell Kya’s story. Abandoned at a young age by her mother, she is left in the care of her hard-drinking father. Unable to fit in at school, Kya grows up ignorant until a shrimper’s son, Tate Walker, befriends her and teaches her how to read. After Tate goes off to college, Kya meets Chase, with whom she begins a tempestuous relationship. The novel culminates in a long trial, with Kya’s fate hanging in the balance. Kya makes for an unforgettable heroine. Owens memorably depicts the small-town drama and courtroom theatrics, but perhaps best of all is her vivid portrayal of the singular North Carolina setting.

I believe all loved the book.  I know it was one book I couldn't put down. Much discussion ensued and we were glad she lived out her life with Tate in her comfortable marsh surroundings.

Next month we meet earlier on April 11  at  Pat's and will read "The Invisible Wall" by H. Berstein.

Erin go Bragh!

KAthy G