Maisie Dobbs

Greta prepared a fabulous meal of pork tenderloin, spinach salad with agave honey goat cheese, mashed sweet potato and butternut squash puree, and cake with berries for dessert.  Each of these dishes paired perfectly with the Kenwood Sauvignon Blanc she brought.  We met at Becky's house and discussed Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear.

Points of discussion included:

• The character development and historic setting were top-rate, as were the inner psychological workings of the main character which though occasionally overdone (in some opinions) were meaningful and resonated with many of us.


• The book had a modern feel despite it's post WWI setting.  The war is an important part of the book, touching everyone in some way.  We all agreed the parts of the story that centered around the war were  rich in revelation about the history, emotion, and impact of the war on the people who lived then.


• The journey of Maisie Dobbs which was told via flashback was compelling for most of us, though it did have that familiar rags to riches tinge.


• Class issues came up, both the past and present day struggles people face by belonging to a certain class and perhaps trying to rise above it.  Relationships between different classes can be difficult to navigate.


• We all admired the author's portrayal of a heroine who has a holistic approach to truth.  The way she used her entire body, careful observation, quietness, meditation, etc to discern truth was intriguing and sparked much discussion for us.


• Most of us loved the book and plan to continue the series...though we'll never catch up with Nancy who has been off and running and has practically read all the Maisie Dobbs books available.

Fun Facts:

One not fun thing...it was Jenni's last meeting with us because she is moving.  We will miss her!!

Jessica joined us for the first time and it was great to have her with us!  She fit right in as if she had been meeting with us all along and had some good book recommendations as we grilled her about what kinds of books she likes most.

Some of our personal book mantras were revealed...

"Read, Enjoy, Move On" -Jenni   "Never watch the movie first." -Becky

and one that Jessica hopes to embrace one day..."Read, Don't Enjoy, STOP, Move On."

And a slight miracle occurred when Jessica mentioned one of her favorite books and, I can barely type it because it seems so unbelievable, Greta had read it!  Greta got to experience the feeling of having read a book that someone mentioned in casual conversation and frankly, she was overjoyed.

The Veil

We gathered at Nancy's house for our second meeting to discuss Jenni's book choice The Veil by Cory Putman Oakes.

Points of discussion:

• None of us regretted reading the book, but it was definitely aimed at a teenage audience and lacked some substance and quality.  


• Some faults included lack of elaboration, obvious foreshadowing, unrevealed inner thought processes, and little character development.  Erin compared it to a "B" movie.


• We answered the questions for discussion the author had written for book clubs.  Strangely, they did not lead to discussion about the book, rather they gave an example of something from the book and asked us to relate a personal story that is similar.  Awkward!  (Inside joke...)

We felt the author was definitely setting up for a series.  Some of us would continue with the series if and when it became available but others would not.  It was pretty obvious this was a first time author and the story lacked the depth that causes some teenage books to appeal to wider audiences (like Harry Potter)

Fun Facts:
We had a feast from Nancy's garden!  Fresh cantaloupe, tomatoes, cucumber...amazing food!
(See recipe after the photos!)
The two main male characters in the book are "Nate" and "Lucas" which was fun for Becky because those are her boys' names.
Never before has deodorant been so thoroughly discussed at a book club meeting.
I'll leave you with one word: Frenemies

Here it is: from an old recipe card:

Cucumber Dip

8 oz cream cheese, softened 
2-3 green onions tops and all, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped 
1Tbsp lemon juice
Dash of garlic salt
2 dashes of celery salt
3-4 shakes Tabasco sauce
1/2 - 3/4 cup Miracle Whip
Salt and pepper to taste

Mash cream cheese with fork, add cucumbers and onions and blend. Add other ingredients and refrigerate. 

*You can tell this is an old recipe with all the "dashes", "shakes", etc., but you get the idea. I did not put onions in the recipe last night since I was serving onions with the tomatoes and thought that was enough onions.

Mrs. Kennedy and Me

For our first meeting ever, we discussed Mrs. Kennedy and Me by Clint Hill.

Points of discussion:

• The effects of Mr. Hill's job on his wife and family (he was extremely absent from them)
• Mr. Hill's (and the country's) adoration of Mrs. Kennedy
• Mrs. Kennedy's warm, cultured persona that captured the hearts of other countries and their leaders
• Mrs. Kennedy's aristocratic status and disconnect with the reality of everyday life for most women
• The tension of a beautiful, wealthy family with tragedy that seems to draw interest from people
• Mr. Hill's depressed, guilty-conscience existence that was healed in some ways by writing the book
• The lack of privacy in Mrs. Kennedy's life and how that bothered and affected her
• Mrs. Kennedy's possible motives for marrying Onassis after JKF's death
• General views of women, pregnancy, and life in the late 50's, early 60's

We felt the ghostwriter Lisa McCubbin did an excellent job of forming the material into a book that flowed well and held the reader's interest.  We were thankful for Nancy's insight into the 60's (even though she was quite young at the time.)  Most of the group would recommend this book as an interesting insight into the life of Mrs. Kennedy and how the Secret Service agency works. 

Fun Facts:

We just happened to meet on JFK's birthday!  He would have been 95.

Jackie's father named her after Jacqueline Kennedy because he loved JFK (for sending troops to Vietnam.)  If Jackie had been a boy, her name would have been Kennedy.

Recipes:

Spicy Black Bean Empanadas

Mexican Green Bean Salad

Sopapilla Cheesecake

Oh no!  No pics with Erin because she was holding the camera...we will remedy that next time!