Raven Black, by Ann Cleeves

Hi All! We had a really fun meeting at Kathy Baker’s beautiful home this past Tuesday to discuss Raven Black, by Ann Cleeves.

Before we got down to the business of discussing the book, we had a conversation about all kinds of things, from who would walk Meghan Markle down the aisle at the upcoming royal wedding (spoiler), religious iconography regarding the pelican in the early Christian church, to some really good Broadway shows -  Come From Away got strong praise, as did School of Rock, Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Mama Mia. This led to a discussion about how best to get tickets. A friend of mine is a Verified Fan through Ticket Master, and receives a code that makes it easier for her to get tickets – link here if you are interested. Mary and I also talked about an app called Get Your Guide that is very useful when one wants to book tours or experiences almost anywhere in the world. I’ve had very good experiences using it in Italy and Portugal, and will use it in Sweden and Iceland in June.

Then we had delicious treats (fondue, special dips, a selection of cheeses, fruit, chocolate, and oh, the desserts...!) and then we discussed the book. 

Raven Black takes place in the modern day Shetland, and tells the story of the investigation of a murder of a local teenager.  The book, the first in a series known as the ‘Shetland Island’ series, has recently been adapted for television, in the series Shetland on BBC. Most of the group enjoyed the book for it’s description of Shetland’s beauty and culture, and the accurate portrayal of the way the small communities operate, but felt that the development of the characters should have been more well rounded to make the reader have better connections to the protagonist and key characters. Some readers noticed a similarity to the structure of To Kill a Mockingbird that made the plot a bit predictable.  Sometimes the plot exposition was more ‘telling than showing’, through conversations that seemed somewhat implausible, and the action flagged in the middle. In all, the group enjoyed the book, and were rewarded by the unexpected ending, that all agreed was well worth the read.  Ann Cleves also writes the Vera Stanhope series, which has been adapted by the BBC as Vera. Apparently, Ann Cleeves and Louise Penny are good friends and often give talks together. 

Some new books we talked about are:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Capitol Dames: Civil War and Women of Washington 1848-1868, by Cokie Roberts.

The Perfect Horse, by Elizabeth Letts

Belgravia, by Julian Fellowes 

Varina, by Charles Frazier

Sing, Unburied, Sing, by Jesmyn Ward

We decided to read Belgravia for the June 19^th meeting at 6:30pm, which will be at Fiona’s house, and Cold Mountain or Varina by Charles Frazier (pick one or both) for July at René’s house.

Thank you again to Kathy for all her wonderful hospitality, and to all for the great conversation!

River of Doubt was so good!

Wow! What a great book that was! Our general response was that it was hard to believe that it was non-fiction - how would any reasonable person decide to take that trip? 

The idea that a former president of the United States would on a relative whim go on a poorly planned, harrowing expedition down an uncharted river was by itself fantastic, even if he was Theodore Roosevelt. It was so fantastic that many refused to believe it even at the time. Harrowing barely begins to describe the danger, deprivation and hardship the team endured, made all the worse by lack of food, lack of viable game to hunt and most incredibly, lack of boats. 

How does an entourage arrive for a 1,000 mile journey down a river with no boats? It hires a clerk at an outdoor store to plan it, working with a fairly unsuccessful arctic explorer. You can't make this stuff up. Needless to say, although it almost kills Roosevelt and does kill others, they make it through but just barely. Did I mention the insects? Those details alone are enough to wave off the strongest of people. 

And Roosevelt was amazingly strong in body (mostly) and in his iron-clad mind. Yet even he came close to saying it was too much. 

The story has much to offer and it was greatly enhanced by Candice Millard's retelling. This was a wonderful book, well researched, well constructed and written with clear-eyed but still palpable admiration for an astonishing man. The love and devotion Roosevelt earned from his expedition members was easy to understand and that was the overwhelming impression that this book left me. There is a reason Theodore Roosevelt is still renown and revered, nearly 100 years after his death. He was, and is, a force of nature. 

And so on to our next book. After some great discussion on a BBC mystery series called Shetlands, we decided to read Raven Black by Ann Cleeves. If you like mysteries, this one is great.  Ann Cleeves has two detective series and both have become BBC series, the second one called Vera.

We will meet at Kathy Baker's, thank you Kathy! The date is May 15, 6:30. Great to see everyone! 

Cooking for Picasso, another fun, entertaining read

Hi all, and thanks to Ashley for hosting another fun book club. What a good time we had, even though there was not much to discuss with this book. It was charming, easy to read and had a compelling story line, albeit not altogether believable. But, as they say, it is fiction.

The characters were easy to categorize and so there was little conflict in what to think about them. There were evil twins, an overbearing, abusive father and the mercurial celebrity chef miraculously transformed into a generous, supportive boyfriend. Wasn't it really his Picasso painting after all?

But, mere quibbles as in the end, we liked this book a lot and enjoyed reading it, although it didn't give us much to discuss. Too bad, but it meant more time to chat!

And so on to our next book, River of Doubt by Candice Millard. Several of us had read this and really recommended it. Since our meeting, I have heard from a number of people who loved this book so I am looking forward to it. This tells the incredible story of Theodore Roosevelt's harrowing exploration of an uncharted river in the Amazon and is, despite the unlikely scenario, a true story. This is the way Roosevelt chose to get over his election defeat in 1912, and it sounds fabulous.

Kathy Baker has volunteered to host, the date is March 20. We haven't been to Kathy's for a while, so directions will come out later but keep in mind it is in Goochland County, not too far from me but a bit west.

Thanks to Lynn and Julie J. who steered me to the library, I have been reading a lot of varied things and also have discovered that libraries have cookbooks! Who knew? Since discovering that, I have been checking out all kinds of baking books to try and keep up with Ashley's amazing baking. It is a challenge!

See you all very soon!

Uncommon Type - fun to read, typical of Tom Hanks

Hi all, what fun we had at Val's house talking about Tom Hanks and his new collection of stories called Uncommon Type. This collection of stories, some related but most not, revolved around typewriters; sometimes they were mentioned, sometimes they were central to the story, but they were always there. Tom Hanks evidently collects old typewriters and his fascination with them led to this somewhat thin but useful construction.

But first, some administration. Val had a bit more silverware at the end of the night than at the beginning. Does anyone recognize these? If so, let Val know.

And, her husband Steve tried some of the leftover wine and absolutely loved it. He wants to know where to find it - anyone know? Let all of us know that - it sounded fantastic.

And so on to our discussion which was pretty consistent among us. This was charming and sweet, but not too deep. It read like a screen played it was impossible not to hear Tom Hanks in your head as you read because the stories were just like him. I for one had a bit too much and just stopped somewhere along the way.

Interesting that reading Steve Martin is a completely different experience - it is hard to conjure him out of his writings. Really, that was about the extent of what we had to say. If you love Tom Hanks, go for it.

Our next book is Cooking for Picasso byCamille Aubray which is historic fiction. Ashley has kindly offered to host. Our next date is Feb. 20 at 6:30. See you all then!

Slow cooked Apples

Hi all, this is a version I found in the LA Times. You can adapt to the larger version I made pretty easily, just put all the apples in one 10 inch baking dish, cover with plastic and weight. Then cook at 175 degrees for 10 hours or so.

This version is easier and Mike Joyce won't have to worry about the oven being on all night.

Recipe: Long and slow apples December 09, 2010 Long and slow apples Total time: 30 minutes, plus 2 hours baking time and optional chilling time Servings: 4 Note: Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's "Around My French Table."

Show us your photos: If you try this recipe, we want photographic evidence: Click here to upload pictures of the finished dish.

1/4 cup sugar 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander 4 apples, such as Gala or Fuji, peeled 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted Zest of 1 small orange, removed with a vegetable peeler, then very finely chopped (optional) 1. Center a rack in the oven and heat to 300 degrees. Generously butter 4 (6-ounce) ramekins or heatproof cups (Pyrex custard cups work well). Line a jellyroll pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. 2. Put the sugar, ginger and coriander in a small bowl and whisk to blend. 3. The apples need to be sliced as thin as possible. First cut them in half from top to bottom and remove the cores with a melon baller, or excavate them with the tip of a small knife. If you have a mandoline, or Benriner slicer, use it to slice the apples crosswise 1/8- to 1/6-inch thick. If not, do this with a knife — just set the apple halves cut-side down on a board and slice crosswise. 4. Arrange a thin layer of apple slices in each ramekin, brush with a little melted butter, sprinkle with a little spiced sugar and scatter over a small pinch of orange zest, if you're using it. Continue to make layers of apples, butter, spiced sugar and orange zest until you've used all the apples. 5. Wrap each ramekin in parchment paper and then aluminum foil and use a small knife to pierce both the parchment and foil in about 4 places. Put the ramekins in the jellyroll pan and weight each ramekin down, using more ramekins or heatproof coffee cups — you don't need anything too heavy, but you do want to press the apples a bit while they're baking. 6. Bake the apples for 2 hours, undisturbed. Transfer the jellyroll pan to a cooling rack and let the ramekins rest with the weights in place until they cool down a little, or until they reach room temperature. 7. Remove the weights and the wrapping. If the juices have run over the sides of the ramekins, wipe them clean. 8. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled. If you want to serve the apples chilled, cover each one with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or better yet, overnight. If you want to unmold the apples, run a small knife around the edges of each ramekin, cover with a small plate, turn over and lift off the ramekin. 9. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream (add a pinch of ground ginger) or vanilla ice cream.

Happy New Year! Another great Christmas Swap!

Thanks to everyone who came out for our annual Christmas Book Swap! As usual, we had a wonderful time. This event really highlights the great range of interests we all have - the breadth of subjects, the number of authors and the time frame in which they were written was pretty impressive. I'd say we have a group of readers!

Winning the "Gee, I want that one" lottery was Tom Hank's book Uncommon Type. It turns out Tom Hanks is a collector of old typewriters and wrote a short story collection that has a typewriter in each one. Interesting, and interesting that two people brought along that book to swap, both Lynn and Val. And so, that is our January book - I for one can't wait, the interviews I heard with Tom Hanks peaked my interest, as did the fervor with which this book got claimed!

Many thanks to Lynn who jumped in and took notes so we know who brought what and who wrote it. Great job! And to Ashley for the amazing toffee - she has sent out the recipe so I will not repeat it here, but if you need it, let me or Ashley know. As for the slow apples - I will post it separately. The version I can find online is for individual servings which is much faster than my version.

Gordon added a great twist this year as she wasn't able to attend, but did drop off a book. That gave us a wild card that could be used whenever wanted and it was very fun. We can keep that idea for next year.

And now to the books! Here they are, thanks everyone:

Snobs and Past Imperfect  by Julian Fellows - Maggie (this one swapped around a lot too)
The Paris Wife  by Paula McLean - Karin (2nd year in a row this one has shown up)
Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks - Lynn and Val - the only book ever to have been brought by 2 people!
Kindred by Octavia Butler - Celia
Glass Houses by Louise Penny - Jean
Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shatak - Renee
The Last Tudor by Phillips Gregory - Julie J. (Looks fantastic, it is now in my library list)
The Forger's Tale by Edward Dolnick - Sally (another must read)
I Capture the Earth by Dode Smith - Catherine
The Mating Season by P.G. Wodehouse - Gordon
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbach - Carol
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld - Ashley
Negroland by Margo Jefferson - Mary

We had some ideas for our February book - many of us were intrigued by Negroland which is a memoir of sorts about a black Chicago area that was filled with intellectuals. Another is The Red Notice, by Bill Browder, another memoir about a murdered Russian financier who was on the wrong side of Putin by one of his closest friends. The third suggestion was Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin (who wrote The Aviator's Wife). This is a novel but tells the stories of the wealthy women of Truman Capote's world.

And so on we go into 2018, who would have believed it! We do not have a venue yet for January, can someone please volunteer? We are on for January 16, location TBD.

See you all soon!

Anything is Possible - Elizabeth Strout keeps delivering great work

First of all, thank you to our hostess Rene Massey Ashjian whose gorgeous townhouse in West Broad Village could not have been more lovely, nor more welcoming. Thank you!! It makes me want to move into the neighborhood. Rene was the best of hostesses, she knows how to set up a table and bar, thank you so much!

And our group had a great discussion, with most of us really impressed with this fairly slim book that connects with, but does not require, her prior book My Name is Lucy Barton. Although most of us (I am an exception) did not like her similarly structured novel of stories Olive Kitteridge, we all liked this one. Somehow, the author can use a minimum of words to create a maximal impact - and there is much impact here. This collection of stories moves around the characters of Lucy's small town to give a full, rich view of small-town life.

As a well-known author, Lucy comes back to her small town with trepidation. Her family was desperately poor and while she is far from that now, it is still with her. Her damaged brother and resentful sister never left, nor did a person kind to Lucy in her youth - the janitor in her school. The memory of her and her siblings rummaging through the dumpsters for food, and the subsequent ridicule from her schoolmates, is still close at hand. 

As with Olive Kitteridge, each story gives an insight into the lives centered in this little town, and in the whole, an insight into life in this, or any other small, dwindling town. The characters are varied, inevitably flawed, and yet the stories ring true and create a whole. There are genuinely nice characters in this book, and those would be nice if only their lives weren't so difficult. They are easy to understand, as the author has given us the room to appreciate their challenges and recognize just how difficult it can be to see the larger truth. 

All of us commented on the spare language that Strout uses to such great effect. When most of us need ten words, Strout makes do with four - and does a better job of evoking the nub of her thought. All these people have ambiguous and ambivalences. Instead of condemning them for that, Strout makes us see that this is the human condition. 

And so, generally we loved it. I for one am going to go back to her earlier works with new eyes, as Strout, in my opinion, has refined her work to a brilliant level and I want to see the progression again.

And so, on to our next meeting. We agreed to move our Christmas meeting to Dec. 13 to accommodate my schedule, however Jean Jumet will be in town the following Thursday and wondered if that day would work so she can join us. I think the date is the 21st, Jean is confirming for me. Is that day an issue for anyone? It would be great to have her back with us. 

As you likely remember, December's meeting is a Yankee Book Swap, so no reading which is lucky as I have no less than 15 books on my table waiting for me. Let me know what you think about the date! We will be at my house, lucky me! 

Happy Holidays! 

Jodi Picoult - Great Small Things, so timely

Not many of us were familiar with Jodi Picoult, and so we were looking forward to reading and discussing a relatively new author. Perhaps we started at the top of the Picoult canon because it was a very good read and a timely one given the current climate in the country.

This book follows a black labor and delivery nurse Ruth Jefferson who is not allowed to care for a white baby by his white supremacist parents. She is shocked and hurt by the hospital's acquiescence, understandably.

Through a quick series of unlikely events, when the baby stops breathing, Ruth is the only person in the room and she is charged with his death. From then on, her life and that of her teenage son deviate drastically from the responsible, respectable path they were on, with only further trouble on the horizon.

The crisis opens Ruth's eyes to the racism all around her that she tried very hard to ignore, egged on by her sister and the painful reaction of her son whose reaction threatens to derail his own life. The easy way Ruth's hospital employer deflects blame to her and the reactions of her coworkers were hard to bear. Perhaps because they seemed so familiar.

Interestingly, the story included the backstory of the white supremacists, Turk and Brittany whose own struggles which led them to strong, if reprehensible beliefs. They have lost a newborn son and blame is natural enough when not stoked with hate. Yet, their story is sympathetic enough in its telling to keep the reader from dismissing them altogether.

And that perhaps is the problem with it all, as we discussed it. Initially, the characters were a bit too stereotypical, the story predictable and the ending too pat. But we all read it and enjoyed it and maybe some of us will read Jodi Picoult again.

As for next month, Rene Massey has volunteered to host, thank you! We are reading Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout, of Olive Kitteridge fame. Our meeting is on November 14, see you all then!

Miss Portland by David Ebenbach

What a great read! We all loved this thoughtful book about a woman struggling to find her path despite recognizing that others might just be correct in thinking that she is a bit crazy. 

Does that sound depressing? Oh no, not this book. Somehow this search is lively, fun, light and rewarding. There are tears and disappointments, but they all are part of the journey that thankfully, leads forward and up. Great characterizations, great atmosphere, and weren't we lucky to have a chance to talk it all over with the author himself, David Ebenbach. 

This is the right time to thank our hostess, Fiona Ross for not only having us all to her lovely home but also arranging this author event with her friend from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. We had once before had a lovely event with David, to discuss his collection of stories called Into the Wilderness. He was kind enough to come back. Fiona and I are still kicking ourselves for not getting pictures! 

What a great conversation too. David was very open about his process and inspiration and also about the way one gets a book published. He is kind, thoughtful, creative (obviously) and interested in all our opinions. That's the way to our hearts! 

As for the book, honestly we did all love it. Zoe was a believable character, and David did an admirable job of creating a realistic portrayal of Portland. In fact, he told us that he used Google Maps and a bike riding app to get her escape exactly as it should be, even when she should be going uphill or down. So those people who know Portland (Maine, if you weren't sure) will recognize the trip. 

As for Miss Portland, I thought of the title in the beauty pageant way, others as took it to be "I miss Portland" or I was going to Portland and went the wrong way and never got there. And according to David, all interpretations are correct.

 Zoe in some way represents a community, an example of seekers in every community, so she can be "Miss Portland". And she also comes to Portland for a new life, to make a success. And yet within days she knows her choice is wrong and she flees, and so she has "missed" Portland. And her journey has taken her away, to a dream of her childhood. Does that sound cliched? It's not, really, it is lovely and fresh. 

Miss Portland, by the way, is a diner in the city. The cover photo is taken by David's mother, of the original location .  

Aren't we lucky to have such a lovely evening with a wonderful talent who tells us all? Yes, we are. Thank you so much David, and of course thanks again Fiona. 

And so on to October's book, by Jodi Picault, Small Great Things. I think we are at Ashley's, and will confirm. November we had planned a change, a Sunday meeting at the river, but it looks like our schedule will have to go back to normal. Stay tuned for updates! 

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

It is all Ashley's fault that this blog is relatively late. When I wasn't looking at her Facebook posts about viewing the eclipse in Oregon (I was in my office parking lot with borrowed glasses), I was catching up on back episodes of The Great British Baking Show, which Ashley told me about. Oh, and blame Julie Joyce (we have two Julies now) and Lynn, who got me to the library instead of Amazon. No doubt that is why the stock has gone down recently. I am reading more I have in a good long while. Thanks to all three of you! It has been great.

About our next Julie, welcome to Julie Weissend! Lucky us! Julie came to our group for the June meeting and it seemed like she had always been part of the group. Thanks so much for joining us!

And now on to the book - such an amazing read. Here is a link to blog I posted when I first read this book in March. http://celiasbookclub.blogspot.com/2017/03/remember-tenth-of-december-george.html. Can you tell I loved it?

Despite the odd factor, the group of us who met at Susan Victoria's house in Church Hill (thank you Susan, so lovely!) really enjoyed this book. We had a wonderful, far-reaching discussion about what if anything, this sad retelling of Lincoln's private tragedy against the backdrop of the national horror of the Civil War meant.

There was much that the group appreciated about this book. The first was the premise - how very inventive to create a purgatory of lost souls, none of whom, save one, know that he or she is dead. And into this lands poor little Willie Lincoln, who died while his poor father struggled to save the Union while his own life disintegrated.

The second aspect of the book that was so impressive was the writing. It was amazing. Rhythmic, repetitive phrases, beautiful sentences, spun paragraphs, it was a pleasure to read. Although it was definitely odd.

The third thing we liked was the story - the pacing of the plot, the characters in their full weirdness, the clever introduction of new information and new ideas. Poor Lincoln, trying to fulfill his responsibilities while enduring the loss of his child and public defamation for his choices. Oh dear.

It was Catherine who pointed out what seems now to be obvious, the parallel to the story of Christ. It fits all so well. Catherine also pointed out the shock of those lost in the Bardo, of their shock when Lincoln actually touched Willie. No one had ever touched anyone there before and it was the beginning of release for those lost souls.

It is wrong to mention only Catherine's comments because there was such a great conversation, and everyone contributed so much. What a fun, interesting evening! And see if you can wangle an invitation to visit Susan, she is an amazing hostess in a lovely space. Thank you!

And so, on to our next meeting on September 19 at Fiona's. The book is Miss Portland by David Ebenbach, a friend of Fiona's who is planning on joining us in person! You may remember him from our meeting with him at the Fountain Book Store for his last book, which we all loved, Into the Wilderness.

See you all then!