Butler Women of Wisdom Book Club

Happy New Year 2014 Everyone! To commence our New Year in reading we will kick off with a winner, Divergent . Veronica Roth’s debut novel is the first in a hot new trilogy. Already a movie which will be coming out soon (field trip!), this book was highly recommended by the librarian at our school. She claims it is ten times better than The Hunger Games which is comparable in its Sci-Fi genre and future world order plot. Read the book and be prepared to discuss which of the five factions that you would be assigned as a citizen - Abnegation, meant to uphold selflessness; Amity, meant for the peaceful; Candor, meant for the honest; Dauntless, meant for the brave; and Erudite, intended for the knowledgeable. Or would you be “ Divergent ?” Our next meeting will take place at the Butler Area Public Library, January 21, at 6:00 PM. I have the “conference” room reserved from 6 to 8 PM. It is located on the second floor through the double doors. For those that will be hungr...

Hi Everyone, Our meeting for the novel The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline was well attended. Becky, Barb K., Cheryl, Christine G., Ginnie, Lori, Mary Beth, Sharon, and I met at Panera Bread for our discussion. The book was hauntingly fascinating as we learned about an occurrence in American history of which none of us were familiar, the marketing of orphans.  The major themes in Baker’s novel include fortitude and the human ability to thrive. The main character Vivian, a 90 year old woman, must come to terms with her childhood and the trauma caused from her experiences of loss and the abuse she suffered as an orphan. Vivian draws her endurance during her orphaned years by remembering her family, especially the time she spent living with her dad’s parents in Ireland. Vivian kept that spark of faith close to her heart through the hardest of times as an orphan. She wore, unceasingly, the claddagh charm her grandmother gave her for many years. The charm represe...

Hi Everyone,   Abraham Verghese’s Cutting For Stone gave a rich and remarkable reading experience this month.  Needless to say, all who attended book club at Natili’s Pizzeria  (Barbara K., Becky, Cheryl, Ginnie, Jodi, Lori, and Tammy) loved this book.  This epic novel which took us two months to read spans continents and generations.  An unforgettable story of love and betrayal, compassion and redemption, exile and home unfolds across India, Ethiopia, and America.   Cutting For Stone explores the lives of a memorable cast of characters which offers insight into the world of medicine with precise and sometimes too much detail about how doctors work dramatizing the movements of heart and mind. Narrated by Marion Stone, the story begins before Marion and his twin brother, Shiva are born in Addis Abab’s Missing Hospital (a mispronunciation of “Mission Hospital”) with the illicit, years-in-the making romance between their parents, Sister Mary Jos...

Hi Everyone, Wednesday evening we met for the July book club to discuss our 93 rd book, Bone Appetit by Carolyn Haines. We intended to meet at Randita’s Grill in Saxonburg, but when we arrived it was closed! Despite my email message and a special stop in to Randita’s to confirm the arrangements with Dale, one of the owners, their doors were locked. Luckily, the Saxonburg Hotel is next door and they were glad to accommodate us. In attendance at the meeting were Barb K., Becky, Cheryl, Ginnie, Jody, Lori, and myself.  Bone Appetit , a humorous murder mystery is light reading. It is the 10 th book in a series involving the character Sarah Booth Delaney who is a partner in a detective agency with her best friend Tinkie. In reading Bone Appetit’ , we were at somewhat of a disadvantage starting so late in the series. So much of the exposition was lacking. I would have liked more of a description of Sarah Booth’s earlier life in Zinnia, Mississippi, the setting o...