May - November 2018 and January 2019 Book Club Newsletter
Volume
2, Issue 1 - January 2019
BUTLER WOMEN OF WISDOM
SEMI-ANNUAL NEWSLETTER
By Tammy C. Smith
Introduction
Time is flying by,
everyone! We now begin another year of reading as a group, Butler Women of
Wisdom, and as the family we have grown to be. It has been fourteen years since
we read our first book. Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees was the
start of our journey through what amounts now to just over 150 books! Quite a
feat, I must say, both for the duration of our commitment to reading and, most
of all, for our commitment to each other.
The Best Book Club Christmas Party Ever!
The Best Book Club Christmas Party Ever!
No one can deny the fun we
all had at this year’s book club Christmas party which took place on Saturday,
December 8! Thanks to senior member Lori and her husband Doug, we enjoyed their
hospitality in their beautiful home. The party went on well into the evening,
and for some of us, well into the night as there was so much fun and laughter
afoot. Charades were played
(remember Kathy’s diaper changing!) while wine was drunk. Including spouses and
“future” spouses (Marybeth and Mark), not one reveler left without a full dose
of holiday spirit! This year’s party has certainly set a standard for future
book club Christmas parties. It was such a great time, I vote that we plan a
summer event, a mid-year blowout! The warm friendship we all share should be
celebrated more than once a year!
Six
Months of Reading in Review
Now to business. Since my
last newsletter in April of 2018, we have read 8 great books!
January 2019: The
Storytelller’s Secret by Sajal Badani
November 2018: The Fabulous Bouvier
Sisters by Sam Kashner
October 2018: Whistling Past
the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
September 2018: Carnegie’s Maid
by Marie Benedict
August 2018: One Thousand
White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus
July 2018: Ordinary Grace:
A Novel by William Kent Krueger
June 2018: That Month in
Tuscany by Inglath Cooper
May 2018: The Tuscan Child
by Rhys Bowen
Each book, in its own
right, was deserving of our time. Most importantly, we traveled to new places,
acquired historical facts, and learned life lessons through the 2627 pages we
read since the month of May (an average of 328 pages a month)!
In recollection, we
traveled to India, affluent New England, the White House, Tuscany -several
times, the wild west, twentieth-century Pittsburgh, and the 1960’s in Minnesota
and Mississippi. As for historical facts, they encompass various eras and
cultures. We learned about the Hindu culture, the Native American Indian
culture, the Civil Rights Era and the lifestyle of the filthy rich.
Most notably, we were
introduced to the unbelievable challenges of women during different periods of
history. The Storyteller’s Secret, The Fabulous Bouvier Sisters, Carnegie’s
Maid, Whistling Past the Graveyard, and One Thousand White Women
all feature strong characters who graced our stories. In this group of books,
all of our main characters were women who had to overcome odds in whatever
their situation. I especially was fond of the character of May Dodd in One
Thousand White Women. Her dynamic mix of vulnerability, kindness, and tenacity endeared
her to all the people with whom she met before and during her time married to
an Indian chief. The narrator’s sarcastic wit and flourish with the written
word lifted this book a level above other books that we have read. In contrast,
in this book list's only biography, we learned more about the famous Bouvier
sisters. Primarily, they were fashion icons and pillars of social decorum;
other than that, I cannot say I hold any further respect for the two celebrity
sisters. However, the fictional character in Carnegie’s Maid, posing as
Clara Kelly only to secure a deserving position of employment, earns a medal for
her performance; and the character Jaya’s conviction in The Storyteller’s
Secret, to give up the love of her life so that her children would never
have to endure the shame of their mother’s affair, is an act of pure
selflessness. These are the compelling characters who inspire us. For those books
we are thankful that we live in better times where women are starting to earn
respect. As 2018 was the year of the popular “Me Too” movement, a celebrity led
movement against the sexual harassment and sexual assault of women, we were
right in there, ladies, reading books that featured women of courage! Woo-hoo!
Notable
Quotables!
As for the valuable insight
and life lessons we learn through our reading, it is insurmountable considering
the excellent quality of books we choose to read. Every year, I like to create
a list, a few quotes from each book. The list below are taken from the books
listed above:
“To find peace in that
moment, you have to cede control of life” (The Storyteller’s Secret).
“I have always taken my
material trappings for granted, but now, seeing Ravi’s pride in the little that
he has, I’m ashamed to admit I can’t remember a time when I fully appreciated
them” (The Storyteller’s Secret).
“If you bungle raising your
children, I don’t think whatever else you do matters much” (The Fabulous
Bouvier Sisters).
“The first time you marry
for love, the second for money, and the third for companionship” (The Fabulous
Bouvier Sisters).
Whistling past the
graveyard - that’s what Daddy called it when you did something to keep your
mind off your most worstest fear… “ (Whistling Past the Graveyard).
“Some of the best things in
life come when you’re not planning on them. It’s important to see them for the
gift they are” (Whistling Past the Graveyard).
“The world of books is
still the world (Carnegie’s Maid).
“I knew Catholics weren’t
exactly revered in Pittsburgh” (Carnegie’s Maid).
“All this party-going is
beginning to remind me of the Chicago social season with dinner tonight at the
‘Alights on the Clouds’ residence, it’s akin to Mother and Father being invited
to the McCormick estate” (One Thousand White Women).
“By spoiled I mean that in
giving the Red Man gifts - rations and charity not earned by the sweat of his
own brow - our government has never accomplished anything other than to
encourage like a dog fed scraps at a table, to beg more gifts, rations, and
charity” (One Thousand White Women).
“They’re never far from us,
you know. . . The dead. No more’n a breath. You let that last one go and you’re
with them again” (Ordinary Grace).
“I’m sure that each of us
has memories that for reasons of our own we don’t share. Some things we prefer
remain lost in the past” (Ordinary Grace).
“Don’t ever put yourself in
the position of vulnerability. Bad people look for opportunity” (That Month in
Tuscany).
“How can prayers be
answered if you do not call upon the saints to help? God is obviously too busy
to do everything alone” (The Tuscan Child).
In Closing
Sincerest wishes for a healthy, wealthy, and blessed New Year,
Tammy
P.S. I have also
attached the updated list of book club books.
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