Best Summer Read 2012

Meeting Summary           Sept. 28, 2012

The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg                              Teresa                    **

Wild  by Cheryl Stayde                                                                Frances                  ***

Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh                            Frances                  ***

Far Side of the Sky by Daniel Kalla                                              Ada                       ***

Postmistress by Sara Blake                                                            Pat                         ***

Paris Wife by Paula McLain                                                          Pat                         ***

11/22/63 by Stephen King                                                             Wendy                   ***

Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel                                            Wendy                  ***

Libertus Mysteries of Roman Britain by Rosemary Rowe              Kathryn                **

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier                                      Kerry                    **


A small group tonight, but lots of great titles!  Rhian also reported in: her favourite read was a thriller called Expats, and Antoinette (currently in France) read The Lady Cyclist of Kandahar, a historic adventure/travel novel which sounds very intriguing.

We are looking at Dec. 2 for the Christmas party, at Kathryn's, and sometime in January or February at Wendy's for the next "real" meeting.  Possible topic:  something by a writer from this year's Writer's Festival.



        

Scottish Fiction

Meeting Summary  April 27

Kieron Smith, Boy  by James Kelman  (Teresa)  ***

The Gathering Night by Margaret Elephinstone  (Antoinette)  **

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margo Livesay  (Frances)   *** plus!

The Forest Laird by Jack Whyte   (Pat)   * 1/2

The Charming Quirks of Others by Alexander McCall-Smith  (Kathryn)   ** 1/2

The Ballad of TamLin by Charles Mikolaycak/Jane Yolen   (Ada)  ***

Tam Lin by Pamela Dean   (Ada)    No Stars

A Small Death in the Great Glen by AA Scott  (Rhian)   ***

Starlight by Anne Douglas  (Kerry)  * 1/2

Doors Open by Ian Rankin   (Kerry)  **

The Cat's Table

Our most recent meeting featured a lively discussion about The Cat's Table, Michael Ondaatje's latest offering. The book got positive reviews from, if I remember correctly, everyone present. Most considered this to one of Ondaatje's most accessible novels, although there were still a lot of puzzling bits in it. We talked a lot about memory, how Ondaatje deals with it, and how we, ourselves, process it; coincidentally, the next day I came across a review of The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. The reviewer describes the novel as "largely a look at memory and how we process our own lives as we reflect back upon our youth." Might be a good follow-up.

Other recommended books that night were Sisters Brothers and Half Blood.

Our next meeting is at Teresa's, and, in honour of her daughter's new boyfriend, we will read Scottish fiction. This includes fiction about Scotland and/or by Scottish authors. Date is April 27th.

The O'Briens by Peter Behrens

Both of us who read this title liked it very much. It is the story of a family descended from the main character of Behren's earlier book, The Law of Dreams. We follow the family from the early 1900s in Quebec through both world wars and into the 60s. The main character is a self-made rich industrialist, married to an independent and very interesting woman. The book chronicles their marriage through the years and provides a great look at Canadian life through these times.

Marriage

Meeting Summary: Nov. 4

The O'Briens by Peter Behrens (Kathryn and Wendy) ***

The Stuff that never Happened by Maddie Dawson (Frances) *

A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve (Teresa) **

Everything was Goodbye by Gurjinder Basran (Pat) **1/2

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan (Pat) ***

The Wednesday Letters by Jason Wright (Goldie) **

Story of a Marriage by Andrew Greer (Barb) ***

Much ado about Marriage by Karen Hawkins (Kerry) *1/2

Recipes for a Perfect Marriage by Morag Prunty (Ada) ***

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (Rhian) ***

Reviews were generally pretty positive for this subject. Well, at least for fiction about this subject. Thanks to Rhian for hosting in her new apartment, which was a little tricky to find, but very nice once we found it.

Next up is our Christmas Party, Dec. 18. Bring food and something Christmasy if you are so inclined.

French-Canadian Fiction

Meeting Summary:

Children of My Heart by Gabrielle Roy (Kathryn and Susan) ***

Kamouraska by Anne Hebert (Frances) ***

The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny (Linda) *

Bury your Dead by Louise Penny (Wendy) **

The Breakwater House by Pascale Quiviger (Kerry) **

Road past Altamont by Gabrielle Roy (Antoinette) ***

Mile End by Lise Tremblay (Ada) ***

Mad Shadows by Marie Claire Blais (Teresa) 1/2 *

Charles the Bold by Yves Beachemin (Pat)

This was a mixed bag as far as positive books reviews were concerned. Gabrielle Roy, Anne Hebert and Lise Tremblay came out on top, with Marie Claire Blais (whom I also attempted to read) took last place. However, a very good time was had by all, and, after a certain amount of bickering, we actually decided on one title for all of us to read for the next meeting. It's a teen novel - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie. The meeting will be at Linda's on August 26th. See you there.

Steam punk

I discovered that I find graphic novels extremely annoying to read. All those exclamations and jumping around the page. not for me. Did enjoy my book though.