Butler Women of Wisdom Book Club

Hi Everyone, It is through stories, legends, and myths that we learn morals, make a connection between the young spirit and the old spirit. How often we forget the importance of our own stories, the treasured imaginings of our childhood. Our November book The Little Country by Charles de Lint reminded some of us of our childhood fantasies and returned us, like Peter Pan, to our lost worlds. Saturday, November 21, was a memorable book club as we spent the day wandering in and out of the spectacular homes featured on Butler Symphony’s Christmas Home Tour. Who wouldn’t want to live perched atop one of Butler’s most elite neighborhoods in the Buckners’ home or nestled in a pristinely landscaped private golf course in a house like the Bagliers’ home? Between our touring of homes, we discussed The Little Country over lunch at Chili’s Restaurant. Becky, Cheryl, Ginnie, Jody, Lori, and I attended along with junior book club members Makenzie Smith and Kristen Barnhart. My sister Ther...

Hi Everyone, Our last book club met on October 20, 2009, at my house. Ginnie, Cheryl, Jody, Lori and I were in attendance. The book we discussed was Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, the young adult book rage at this time. As intimidating as the number of pages in the book may seem for young teens, the Twilight books are favorites among my students at school this year. It was the number one book students read for my summer reading requirement (among those who actually did it). In addition, like Harry Potter before it, the Twilight books turned to movies are increasing its popularity even more. So what is the draw? At book club we attempted to analyze this very question. Yes, the first movie was great. I enjoyed it immensely. The story of vampires mesmerizing beautiful young women with their tantalizing charm is age old, but it still works. The Twilight producers just placed the story into a setting where all teens can connect, high school. Feeling the odd girl out, having just ...

Hi Everyone, What a dynamic September meeting we enjoyed, if you missed it! Although, most all of our members and a few new ones were present for our first meeting ever held at Mama Rosa’s Restaurant. We had seven regular members in attendance, Ginnie, Cheryl, Becky, Lori, Sharon, Jody, and me. Also, adjunct member Nancy Lendyak joined us along with her mother and aunt. It was an evening of robust conversation accompanied by flavorful Italian cuisine. Our book, A Thousand Days in Tuscany by Marlena De Blasi, did not meet the mark as one of our most memorable reads; however, small vignettes describing the Tuscan people and their customs gave us ample dinner dialogue. Reading A Thousand Days in Tuscany for me was like walking through a fog, in some places it was dense and gray, and then I would turn a page and a clear blue sky would open up. My attention was drawn to the seasonal activities of the Tuscans, their seemingly simple and wholesome lifestyle. On page 34, De Blasi writes ...

Hi Everyone, Our book club which met on Wednesday, July 29th was very relaxing. Cheryl, our host, provided us with her charming home along with delicious coffee and scrumptious dessert. Other members who attended in addition to Cheryl and me were Becky, Ginnie, Jody, Mary Beth, and Sharon. As everyone had read the book The Shack by Wm. Paul Young, our discussion at July’s meeting was very interactive. Also, given the religious nature of the topic, it was even a bit controversial. Both ingredients made for a very intellectual book club! The Shack , it was agreed, was a pleasant read for everyone. Young’s writing style is descriptive enough without being redundant. Although the vocabulary made for fast and smooth reading, there were several vocabulary words worth adding to our word banks. A new addition to our book club will be a feature on unique new words, a good suggestion from Jody. Remember June’s words from the book The Elegance of the Hedgehog : Kairos – a Greek word ...

Hi Everyone, Those of you that missed last night’s book club missed out on an enchanting Victorian home tour. Thank you, Becky, for allowing us to enjoy your charming home. Becky’s decorating flare, “New England” style as Cheryl identified it, in addition to Becky’s memoirs associated with her various knick-knacks and furnishings transported us to another place and time, kairos (Greek for “the right moment”). Other members besides Cheryl in attendance, Ginnie, Jody, and myself, all relaxed in the ambiance of Becky’s candlelit garden patio. A very “wabi” (Japanese for an understated form of beauty) summer indulgence. The Elegance of the Hedgehog was a perfect read for summer discussion. It seems that the books we read are most often read in “kairos.” I can’t exactly pinpoint why, but reading Muriel Barbery’s book this month felt like the right time for it. With school out for the summer, I had time to contemplate Renee’ and Paloma’s philosophies on life. I agreed with Paloma ...

Hi Everyone, Thank heaven the school year has ended! With the promise of a stress free summer ahead, I hope to devote a piece of my time to living vicariously through the characters in books. Like in our June read, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, the “50 something” intellectual Renee provides us with much to ponder on life. We will meet to study this character and her young friend Paloma at 6:30 P.M. on Wednesday, June 24, at Becky Ferguson’s house in Chicora. In looking back to our May meeting, few of us finished the book The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. Ginnie and Cheryl had to stay closed mouthed about much of the story since Barb, Becky, Lori, Tina, and I were not done reading it. A 562 page epic about a young mute’s mission to solve his father’s death, the book is a long drawn out saga that could have been condensed into 200 pages. The plot includes a family of dog breeders, which is my only motivation to keep reading considering my new f...

Hello Book Club! The April book club is soon approaching, but I would like to postpone it for a week. Last month at the March meeting we talked about junior club member, Makenzie, joining us and instructing a yoga class. She cannot make it this week, but she said she can make it next Thursday evening, April 30. Becky and Ginnie cannot make it on our original night either, so it may be best if we go ahead and move our date. We should meet at my house at 6:30 P.M. The book we are reading is called Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani. It is a page turner, full of romance and historical memoirs of New York during post WWII when conservative social customs were still in vogue. Last month’s book The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is another post WWII novel. Mary Ann Shaffer’s and Annie Barrow’s book is set in England and the English Channel. The book is compiled of letters between a writer, Juliet Ashton, and her publisher, friends, and a literary society from a small islan...

Hi Everyone, Before our February book club met to discuss The Elegant Gathering of White Snows, to say I was not a fan of the book was an understatement. But after an interactive discourse at Panera Bread with the “elegant” members in attendance: Becky, Cheryl, Ginnie, Jody, Lori, and I, my judgment of Kris Radish’s tale of eight women was significantly altered. For me, widening our perspectives is the benefit of our group meetings and what makes our club so phenomenal. Before our meeting, I found the book in which the casual walking of eight women attracting national attention a paltry plot. It seemed like Radish is searching for an audience with her platform, applauding lesbianism. Jumping on the band wagon in a culture where gay lifestyles are in the popular media, the author has obviously studied the current trends in economics. But, as a result of a very lively conversation, I discovered a few crumbs of nourishment, food for the soul, from this book. At the beginning of our ...

Hi Everyone, As a request from one of our book club members, I am making the effort to send out the book club updates in a more timely fashion, that is, earlier than on the day we next meet! Our next meeting will be held at Panera Bread in Butler on Wednesday, February 16 at 6:30 P.M. The book is The Elegant Gathering of White Snows by Kris Radish. As we are familiar with the author already from reading The Sunday List of Dreams , we should be in for a good story. Last month’s meeting was held at my house on January 14. Those in attendance were Barb, Becky, Cheryl, Christine, Ginnie, Lori, and me. Since Christine brought the video presentation of our book The Last Lecture , we were able to view the author, Randy Pausch, from another perspective. (Although, I apologize for the cacophony my husband made chatting and clattering in the kitchen, therefore, interrupting the end of the video!) From the start, I was somewhat reticent about the direction Pausch seemed to take with the b...

Hi Everyone, The last official meeting was held on Saturday, November 22 at the China Gourmet restaurant in Butler. Members in attendance were Becky, Ginnie, and me. We discussed the book Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. As I said in my October email, it is easily one of my favorite book club picks. Its greatest attributes were the profound messages embedded in the story. Although the book was fiction, the many historical accounts of the life of Frank Lloyd Wright’s lover Mamah Cheney were authentic. From Horan’s research the reader is treated with a vivid glimpse into the time period of the early 1900’s and the moral battles women faced not only in society but within themselves. A major theme in Loving Frank stood out as “in the quest for self fulfillment, a person must make hard choices.” Mamah gave up her children, her sister, and her respected position in society to be with the man she loved. She was a maverick of her time. A proclaimed leader in the early days of the women’s ri...