Butler Women of Wisdom Book Club

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...

You probably thought I forgot about you! No, it is only the usual excuse, a hectic schedule with school at KC and my class at PITT. It has been several weeks since our October book club met to discuss the novel Sunshine by Robin McKinley. Becky, Cheryl, Ginnie, Lori, and myself were present at Panera Bread where the meeting was held. There is not much to say about the book Sunshine , since only one of our members actually completed it. Our first book from the science fiction genre, it was slow moving with unnecessary rambling on by the narrator. The plot could have been completed in half the number of pages used to write the book. There was no life altering thematic messages or quotes that one would hope to remember. I did make one personal connection while reading, however, when the narrator described her mother as a person who will not let go of things. For instance, after the narrator and main character Rae returns to work at the coffee house following her kidnapping, she sa...

Hi Everyone, The September Butler Women of Wisdom Book Club met on Wednesday, September 17 at Kairo's Coffee House. Members in attendance were Becky, Ginnie, Cheryl, and myself. It was a small group, but where two or more readers are gathered, book discussions will commence! Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See is a memorable read. Always a "fan" of historic fiction, I gathered many interesting facts about the suffrage of women in the Chinese culture. For example, although I was aware of the Chinese tradition of footbinding, See's book provided the demented details of the process. A quote we found especially shocking explained why men lusted after a woman's bound foot, "The way her heel curves down like a sac with her forefoot pointed out just so will remind her husband of his own member." To say we were flabbergasted to discover that the male obsession with his own penis is at the root of this perverted tradition is an understatement. I am st...

Hello Everyone, It has been a hectic two weeks diving back into the school year. Each day I get up at 5:00 A.M., meditate through yoga, then proceed to embrace the day! Anyway, with all the embracing I've been doing, I simply haven't had time to write to you. Soon it will be time for our next book club which is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, September 17 at Kairo's Coffee House. This, however is the night of Butler's Battle of the Bands and my nephew David is performing in it for the last time. It is his senior year. Can we change the date to either Tuesday, September 16 or to Wednesday, September 24? Everyone, send me an email to let me know! To bring everyone up-to-date on last month's meeting, our August book club was a scrumptious hit! There were seven members in attendance: Becky, Cheryl, Christine, Ginnie, Jody, Lori, and myself. The meeting was hosted at Lori's southwestern style villa overlooking the golden corn vineyards of Penn Township.Our read...

The July 16th meeting was fun. Our light hearted book choice Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella was an easy summer read (especially for teachers who choose to remain unburdened from deep thought for the few short months before school resumes). Members in attendance in the upper room at Kairo's Coffe House were Barb, Becky, Cheryl, Christine, Ginnie, Lori, Jody, Sharon, and me. The meeting opened with a short vocab quiz on some of the main character's, Becky Brandon's, commonly used words: pram, fab, knotty, gubbins, queue, etc. The quiz also asked for the name of Becky's favorite candy bar which Ginnie promptly answered, Kit-Kat! Kit-Kats were then passed around the room costing only 5 Weight Watcher points for 3 snack size bars. Following the quiz and intermittent book discussion, we shared shopping stories. Jody wore her shopping story, a pair of red leather shoes she purchased in the 80's. After spending what her mother would have considered an outrageous...