The Round House by Louise Erdrich March 12, 2015

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

March 12, 2015

Attendees:  Emily (hostess) Cheryl, Lori, Pat, Myra, Michelle, Pam 

                                                    Can I have a piece of cheese, please?

 We were feeling so good we decided to do a group selfie (Michelle, where did you go?)

This book generated a lot of discussion points.  We liked this for its interesting and mostly unfamiliar subject matter about life on the reservation.   Lori had great facts to share from her son's work with tribal law in Montana which opened our eyes to the ongoing challenges of the Native American and helped enhance the setting of the book; one of the key themes being the importance of where the crime took place, on tribal land or off the reservation?   There was much emphasis on the awareness of the senses in Native American culture, and how everything has its place and order (until something like a crime disrupts the balance)   This generated more dialogue on the importance of boundaries in life.  Despite the main subject of the search for justice for a violent crime,  Myra and Pam liked the gentleness of the coming-of-age theme and the friendship of the boys.  

The protagonist's search for justice generated conversation about the reliability of eye witness accounts, which  brought us around and around to even more talking points:
1.  how the brain distorts memory every time it has to recall that memory.... does an eyewitness really see the events he thinks he does... the brain often adds in details depending on the setting and surrounding circumstances
2. a debate on the color of the striped dress in current events:  was it blue and  black or white and gold?  

http://www.dogonews.com/2015/3/6/white-and-gold-or-blue-and-black-the-great-dress-debate

Note:  4 out of 7 of us saw blue and black and....  the remaining 3 saw white and gold (really?!)
hmmmm....it made us wonder how reliable would any of us be as eyewitnesses?      
(Myra, the bank thanks you for your help, but you may go on your way....)

Thanks to Cheryl's attention to detail and notes, this book helped us learn something new about....

COFFEE.    Quote of the night: "What about the egg in the coffee?"  Check it out here:

http://www.food.com/recipe/lutheran-church-basement-egg-coffee-130947

                      http://www.instructables.com/id/Swedish-Egg-Coffee/

Overall rating:  4.5 out of 6 stars. 

Interest of topic:  6

Character development:  5

Plot deelopment: 5

Author's creativity:  5

Overall enjoyment: 4

Discussion generated:  6

              Thank you Emily for a good night!

Next month's book:   Mrs. Kennedy and Me byClint Hill    Hostess:  Amy

http://mrskennedyandme.com

May:  Girl on the Train by    Paula Hawkins      Hostess:  Pam

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22557272-the-girl-on-the-train

What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman

September 10, 2104  What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman

Host:  Janna  

Attendees:  Betty Rose, Nan, Susan, Michelle, Emily, Mary Margaret, Cheryl, Myra, Pam

I'm sorry, did this book bore you?

This book was based on the Willard Suitcase Project which you can read about here:

http://www.willardsuitcases.com

We agreed the story was good, it just need to be written by a different author  :)

It generated good discussion but there was no real character development.  Many parts were too simple to be believable.

This sweet kitty face kind of sums it up:  ....Ho Hum....

We rated this book a THREE.

Quote of the night:   "There's a fine line between crazy and free-spirited; and it's usually a prescription."

Here's our upcoming line up of books

Untamed by Will Harlan Nov 6, 2014

November 6, 2014  Untamed - The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island by Will Harlan
Host:  Susan
Attendees:  Cheryl,  Amy, Emily, Michelle, Betty Rose, Nan, Pam

Good discussion on coservationist and wild woman Carol Ruckesdell who has spent her life on Cumberland Island.  We all enjoyed learning about the Island, sea turtles, Carol and her four husbands, (including the one she shot to death) and the lifestyle of wealthy families like the Carnegies, Coca-Cola Candlers and even JFK, Jr.  

Betty Rose brought Paul's scrapbook of his many boar (wild pig) hunting trips to Cumberland Island, including great pictures.  We shared pictures of the island, feral horses, Carol and Gogo's homes and the Candler compound.  We also got to admire Gogo Ferguson's famous island jewelry.   Everyone enjoyed the Atlanta connections:  Conservation of the Chattahoochee, the Dickey brothers, Jimmy Carter, and Coca Cola money.  

We might have had a quote of the night, but the hostess failed to write it down!  We didn't care because we were too interested in the delicious cake for dessert.....

You can read a little more about Gogo's jewelry here:

http://www.gogojewelry.com/#!about/c213h

We talked about a field trip to see Callanwolde (the Candler home) for Christmas.   

We unanimously rated this book a 5.   Thank you Susan for a great night with excellent visual aids.

Note:  Check out the field trip page on this blog!