Book Club Slection Titles

In August, 2016, many members of the Park Grove Library Book Club gathered and scheduled the reading material until we meet again, in August, 2018. This list is subject to change as we may read a book that the Washington County Library suggests, or we may read a book with an author who comes to visit with Book Club Special Edition.

Home Fires by Julie Summers

Home Fires by Julie Summers was a non-fiction book that was read by the book club this month.  Unfortunately, I was unable to go and have a summary from the meeting from a couple of members. This is part of one members summary of the meeting. Eight out of the Ten members that were at the meeting liked the book.  It was felt that the book was dry and harder to read but it brought information to us about war, specifically World War II and the efforts of the women in Great Britain.

Members shared their memories of what they heard from their grandparents or parents during that time and how they would have similar groups here.  One member brought a quilt cover that was made in 1934 by her Grandma's Happy Circle in western Minnesota.  Another member brought her own ration book from when she was little, showing how you had to have a stamp to have food.  It made us appreciate what we have now, someone said.  Here is a link to wikipedia about rationing in the US during WW II.

This book club leader found this pin on Ebay and purchased it for $5.  She shared she wanted something of the Women's Institute overall U.K. rather than a county or chapter pin.

Another member summarized the meeting with these thoughts.  We discussed how the Women's Institute evolved and how, even now, it continues.  WI now focuses on helping refugees, victims of abuse and sex trafficking, mental illness and single moms.  We talked about why similar rural Women's clubs in the US have NOT continued nor found a new puprose after WW II.  The great upheaval of life during the war in Great Britain was discussed.  The Post Office registered 38 million change of address during the war, mostly due to the evacuations.  Women collected many items during that time, including salvaging bones, collecting plants for medicinal use and collecting spools of thread that was used by soldiers to hide maps when they went behind enemy lines.  Local markets were started. Raising rabbits and getting permits to butcher livestock were a part of the change.

After the discussion, many members are excited to watch the series on PBS.

Here is some more information taken directly from the Women's Institute web page which you can find here.

"The first Women's Institute in the world started on February 19 1897 at Stoney Creek, Ontario Canada.  The first WI was formed in Britain in 1915, at the suggestion of Canadian woman Madge Watt. The pattern of the Canadian movement was followed and the name adopted."

"The Women's Institute (WI) was formed in 1915 to revitalise rural communities and encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War.  Since then the organisation's aims have broadened and the WI is now the largest voluntary women's organisation in the UK.  The WI celebrated its centenary in 2015 and currently has almost 220,000 members in approximately 6,300 WIs."

Lucky Us by Amy Bloom

Eight people attended the January book club for Lucky Us by Amy Bloom.  One person is quoted as saying she is "wishy/washy" on how she really liked it and wondered why the author picked the title as "Lucky Us."  She said she even wondered why the zebra was on the lion on the book cover.  She summarized it as Eva had managed their life together and, at the end, we are a family and lucky to have each other.  One member thought the title might be written sarcastically "lucky us," we got out of this.  Many commented that they didn't like it, didn't hate it, probably wouldn't recommend it.  One person read another of Amy Bloom books and liked it. Read reviews and thought she would be 'blown away' by this book and she wasn't.  She felt the "writer knew how to tell a story" but she didn't like the characters.  Another said, "I thought it was interesting, but took awhile to get into it, not a big fan of the lifestyle or some of the characters." 

It was good to see how Eva handled the situation.  Someone in the group said they thought Eva was a heroine, with everything she went through.  

We discussed the family life of Eva and Iris.  We were shocked by her mother, surprised by Dad and the other characters that made up the family.  We felt Eva was the stable one in the family, "she couldn't tell anything bad" and "made it believable and possible."  We talked about the sisters relationship. Iris was older, she wasn't a mother to Eva, though. "A sister's responsibility isn't the same as a mother" someone said.  "Eva was concerned with others, Iris was concerned with herself" another shared.   We did like the ending when all those who were close to Eva were together.

Still Life by Louise Penny, December 2016

Fourteen members attended this month's book club with some good eats to share, meeting somewhere other than Park Grove Library.  The group had a good discussion on Still Life.

We introduce ourselves and shared what we thought about the book.  I was only there for this first part of the discussion so will share what people thought.  Several members said they will be reading her other books or already have.  It was a great choice many agreed.

Most liked it or loved it.  It was a good mystery, and one person said, I usually don't care for mysteries, but found this fascinating.  Most liked Inspector Armand Gamache.  A few people mentioned they liked the humor in the book, the little tidbits of life.  There was good character development.  One person said they image of Jane's house.

Three Pines, near Montreal was the setting and many loved that scene, the placement for the book.  One person said she would love to visit it, although it is fictional.  Another member said she lived in that area and it is as described.

Another member touched about the conflict in that area with franco or english language, not realizing it is such a division.  Someone who had lived in the area shared that the French were considered the lower class, the English above.  

I liked in the book, the character Myrna, who had been a psychologist in Montreal before getting to Three Pines.  She had a book shop and I liked when she shared her thought about change. She was talking about a book titled "Loss, by Brother Albert.  This is from page 139 in the paperback:  "Most of us are great with change, as long as it was our idea.  But change imposed from the outside can send some people into a tailspin.  I think Brother Albert hit it on the head.  Life is loss.  But out of that, as the book stresses, comes freedom.  If we can accept that nothing is permanent, and change is inevitable, if we can adapt, then we're going to be happier people."  

I also liked that Ruth Zardo (fictitious character) was a poet quoted in the book, often  

"Who hurt you, once,

so far beyond repair

that you would greet each overtune

with curling lip?

When were these seeds of anger sown,

and on what ground 

that they should flourish so,

watered by tears of rage, or grief?

It was not always so."

Another poet was quoted, W. H. Auden, Herman Melville  This one was quoted in the book and helped to solve the mystery of who did kill Jane.  
Towards the end he sailed into an extraordinary mildness,
And anchored in his home and reached his wife
And rode within the harbour of her hand,

And went across each morning to an office
As though his occupation were another island.
Goodness existed: that was the new knowledge
His terror had to blow itself quite out

 Evil is unspectacular and always human,

and shares our bed and eats at our own table.

Tuesday, November 1 at 6:30 pm BOOK CLUB SPECIAL EDITION with Peter Geye

Join the Park Grove Library and the Book Club to welcome Peter Grey to our library.  We are excited to listen to what insights he can give us into this Minnesota books!

Wintering by Peter Geye Book Club of the Month Park Grove Library

We have started to shelter ourselves, bury ourselves in our home, look for our comfort foods, look for warmth, so it was appropriate that we were reading Wintering by Peter Geye.  He will be a visiting author Tuesday, November 1 at Park Grove Library 6:30 pm.  The 15 members that were at this book club meeting took to task in wondering why the book was titled Wintering?  Some felt that it was the physical change in season, the winter, the snow, the cold, and another thought was that the book title also had to do with the characters in the book, the wintering is shutting down some feelings, some memories, putting something to rest.  Someone mentioned that is the time before the glorious spring, a time to prepare. One member said:  "So much was hidden in the interior that prepares for rebirth that was happening in their lives."  The combination is physical, the winter, cold, hibernating time and yet with some relationship dynamics we do the same thing.

One member said she "liked it" and had read Safe from the Sea, another book by the author and both had similar themes: fathers/sons, secrets and bad marriages. Another said "I liked the switching back and forth, made sense to me; enjoyed how it all fit together" while another disagreed, and thought that made it confusing.   "It was a fast read" someone said.  Another shared that "his use of words painted a vivid visualization, I knew a lot from that."

Some had read the book "Lighthouse Road" which was the prequel to this story and knew a little bit more about the family history and dynamics.   One person said they were left with questions and intrigued by the family, another said, too, they liked the intertwining of the family.  I think a few of us will be going back to read Lighthouse Road.

Someone said the book "reminds us that sharing stories are healing" and "the stories are proof  of love."

One of the questions was " At the opening of the novel, Berit Lovig says that "two stories began" the day that Gus came to see her in November.  She says, "One of them was new and the other as old as this land itself."  What does she mean by this?  What is the story that is "as old as (the) land itself?"  This was a perplexing question.  We really didn't know for sure.   Was it relationships with each other, was it having to do with the land itself?  Did it have to do with Thea when she came to Gunflint?

Another good discussion question was "Why does Harry want his son, Gus, to go with him into the wilderness and why does he choose to embark on this journey as the winter season is approaching?"  One thought it was hard to go it alone, need to two to journey on something like this; another thought was that Gus was involved with Charlie's daughter so he is involved already and needs to go along for his safety, and another thought was it was a time for the two to be together.  They had been through a lot and maybe this time was for Harry and Gus.  The reason they left was because of Charlie, they wanted to have a fair "fight" out in the wilderness without Charlie managing the people in Gunflight.

We had a great discussion on Gus figuring out how to get back home, adventuring on his own, and making new maps.  We thought of how hard it was, once Harry was injured that Gus was able to make it back to Gunflint, almost losing their life at Devil's Maw.  We thought the maps faded over time, like memories in this story.  We talked about Berit waiting all those years, waiting for the right moment for Harry, how she didn't have children of her own, but she was connected to Harry's children.

One more analogy, we talked about the antlers. Why was that story in the book? What significance did it have?  Someone stated that they though it represented Harry and Gus. They couldn't lock and fight or they wouldn't be able to fight the wolves (Charlie).  But yet, that antler at the end saved them and helped open the door with the fire.

Some of us enjoyed the aspect that it was representative of Grand Marais and loved that Devil's Kettle was written into the story.  Someone brought a map of the Boundary Waters and we enjoyed looking where this might have taken place, what route the author, Peter Geye may have gone with the story.

Over all, most said they liked the book, a few weren't able to read or finish it, but overall it was a well-liked book and members are looking forward to seeing the author in a week!

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins