August and September Meetings

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple was our August selection and a hit with everyone. Often when a book is one the whole group likes, there ends up not being much to talk about but we found plenty to discuss with this one: the kind of mother Bernadette was (surprisingly good, although she was utterly incapable in so many other ways), the way the book was written, what we thought had happened to Bernadette, and what we thought about the other characters (loved Bee, mixed opinions on Franklin). Talking about Galer Street School got us going on education in general and we shared some of our own history when it came to discussing Bernadette's having a trailer in her backyard. Quite a few of us had grown up with trailers we could hang out in to find some privacy. Did we end up liking Bernadette? We weren't too sure but we certainly found her to be an interesting person who was much maligned by people who thought they were better parents. And we all hate those people!

The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel was our September selection for our multigenerational meeting. Unfortunately, with illnesses, new grandbabies, and other commitments, we were a small group - but still multigenerational! Lisa's parents, who weren't able to attend, shared their thoughts by email and Diana's mom was able to join us. Both she and Cheryl expressed how surprised they were to find out how famous the astronauts were not having been that aware of them or their families at the time of the Mercury and Apollo missions.  Lisa's Dad had been aware of the public image of squeaky-clean heroes and their doting wives but chalks that up now to naivete at the time. We all felt that it was too difficult to keep track of who was who and that our interest in the wives that came later definitely fell off. Lisa's mom didn't care for the way the book was written at all but did think that some of that had to do with reading it on the Kindle. Her dad did feel that there was too much detail about the houses, the neighborhoods, the clothing, the stores, saying that he was far more interested in reading about their feelings and emotions regarding their husbands' careers. We talked about interaction between the women, the men's reactions to their space flights, and the women's reactions to the deaths of their husbands. While we agreed that it took a certain kind of man to meet both the physical and mental aspects of the job, we were disappointed to find out that only a couple of the astronauts turned out to be good husbands and real heroes.

 

July - Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles, takes its title from a book by the same name by George Washington, actually rules to live by...if you happened to live 200 years ago. For a change, almost everyone had read the book, although several of us had read it so long ago, it was difficult to recall specifics about the book. Our two far flung members who joined us on speaker phone, our two new members and the regulars who had read the book, all enjoyed this one. We had a good conversation about the book, including the type of girls Katey and Eve might have been, living as a single woman in the time period the book was written in, Agatha Christie, and a man writing from a female point of view. We were all impressed with Towle's chutzpah at choosing a female narrator and with his ability to carry it off.

We had great fun discussing the actual rules of civility as well. We will probably bring up cleaning your teeth with the table clothe at every meeting from now on!

Our book for August is Maria Semple's wildly popular Where'd You Go, Bernadette? which made a lot of "best of" lists in 2012 and will be a much different read from anything we've read recently.

In September, we'll have our second annual multi-generational read. Last year's choice, Laura Hildenbrand's Unbroken was a huge success and we had a wonderful discussion. I've chosen Lily Koppel's The Astronaut Wives Club for this year's book, sticking with a non-fiction choice We read Koppel's The Red Leather Diary a few years ago and enjoyed it and this one is getting excellent reviews.

Talking With Cathy Marie Buchanan

What a great evening we had last night talking to Cathy Marie Buchanan about her wonderful book, The Painted Girls. It was fascinating to learn about what inspired her to write this book and about how the book and the book has really changed our impressions about artist Edgar Degas and the ballet world. We talked about why she chose to write the book from only two of the sisters' points of view, the difference in attitudes about the ballet prior to this period and the Belle Epoque period as well as the Russian ballet at this same time.

We're all excited to learn that Cathy is at work on a third novel and have already penciled her in to talk about it - after all, we're two for two with her books, enjoying both the books and our conversations with her.

Next month's book is Sarah Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates. I'm looking for a host!