Lovely Readers

Hello hello lovely readers

I hope this email finds you all well. My apologies for the delay and not getting this sent out sooner. The girls gone wild Miami edition bachelorette weekend, a work/Alaska explosion and now a serious count down for the wedding all were contributing factors. Anyhow, here it is!

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

Our Book of Negroes meeting and discussion, hosted by Sam was fantastic. Excellent turnout, riveting discussion and delicious fare (AND passover friendly). A big thank you to Sam for being such a fantastic host. Everyone felt right at home.

The discussion bounced around–which is the sign of a good read. Thumbs up all around to start–which is great. Everyone was very aware how far the world has come in a relatively short period of time. Within the span of 200 years, the West has moved from slavery to a black president.

We all agreed that Meena was indeed a very memorable protagonist. Sarah Locke and myself found some of the novel to be a bit sentimental (especially compared to other slave narratives) but concurred that it was thought provoking and a page turner. An interesting point of discussion is the fact that in the US, the book has been publiched under a different title (Someone knows my Name) and the implications of that title change. Also, the novel served as a reminder that Canada was as complicit in its behaviour toward blacks. As Canadians we often we view ourselves as the friendly True North Strong and Free, but the reality was not much better in Canada than in the US in terms of our racism and bigotry.

Now there has been a wee bit of confusion on the next book choices (blame me). Our next read is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird and following that read, Jannis Cooke Newman’s Mary. We will have a nice thematic 3 book trend, examining slavery, race relations and injustice in the deep South and Emancipation.
Sorry for the mix up in order.
Anyhow, How does Tuesday May 26 sound? the meeting will be at Kerry’s new house. We will send out details and instructions shortly.
Happy page turning everyone.
xox^..^xox
Happy book club updates—JoJo is having a girl! I will be married by the next meeting!

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend, we had another highly successful meeting. The meeting was at Kerry’s new house and we had a really great talk about the modern classic. What an incredible read. Everyone was thumbs way up. Those who read it for the first time fell in love and for those rereading it, their love was renewed. Our topics of discussion ranged from the slow Southern pace of Maycomb which was reflected in prose, to race relations and civil rights, the outsider versus the insider, and the traditional and not so traditional role of women. Fantastic meeting! Kerry also served the most amazing cheese and let me know that it was the same cheese that AMT served. I love it each time I have it and of course I always forget the name which is probably a good thing because I should never be left alone with that deliciousness. Thank you Kerry for being such a gracious hostess. Thank you to everyone who made it.
Our next book, is Mary by Ann Shaffer. This book is about Mary Todd Lincoln. I am only a few pages in, but so far, it is quite good. It doesn’t look it, but it is indeed on the longer side which means everyone should get reading.
Michelle has offered to host the next meeting. Details to follow. The August meeting will be at casa kitty.
How does July 8 sound? Any alternate dates? Please let us know about your availability.
Happy reading ladies!
^..^

Hey Literary Babes –

Apologies for the late follow up – Catherine can take heart that her role as leader will not be usurped by this book club newbie!

It was an absolute pleasure to host – thanks so much AMT, Sarah, Sam & Jenny C for coming out – to all the rest, we missed you muchly!

Mary by Janis Cooke Newman

Mary – the book – did not endear itself to the group by any stretch of the imagination, aside from a single thumbs up from Sam (without whom the discussion would have been decidedly flatter) we were all either lukewarm or downright vehement with vitriol for the book. One thing we all agreed on was that Mary was in dire need of a good edit – it was far too long. Personally, I resented having to spend so much time with these characters, especially the evil Robert, a one-note villain whose character development was zero to none.

That said, Mary, the character, was much better received. We all agreed it was an interesting and accurate portrayal of a woman ahead of her time in thought and behaviour. It was shocking how she was reviled for being outspoken in politics, for being passionate in her relationship, for being ‘spiritual’ in her beliefs and, well overzealous in her shopping. While many agreed her erratic behaviour was driven by the grief of losing so much (three beloved sons and her husband) and that she shouldn’t have been locked up by Robert, I was adamant that she WAS indeed crazy J

We discussed how, within the context of when she lived, one had to take into account that she would be seen as crazy, women of the time did NOT act out in such a manner and would have been labeled as such. (She also heard voices and was completely paranoid!) The shame exists in the marginalized role granted to women in the 1800s – Mary did not behave as ladies were supposed to behave, being locked up is actually not as shocking as originally perceived. Within the vein of this discussion Jenny C provided a poignant account of her grandmother – also a woman ahead of her time – who ended up being ostracized for her forward thinking and desire to rise above her allotted station in life. We owe her our gratitude for being a pioneer for future career women – each one of us in this group is an amazing example!

Please feel free to add in your thoughts and opinions – you are all aware I feel pretty strongly about this book and may not represent the group as neutrally as I should J

NEXT BOOK: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

It is decidedly shorter than Mary and the group expressed a desire to squeeze it in before our beloved Kitty takes off on her worldwide tour. She is away as follows:

August 13-23
September 13-18
September 23–December 23

I will open the discussion by proposing the first week of September, perhaps the 7th, 8th or 9th?