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Author: kim.harwanko
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The Weather and Book Club
A freak weather storm thwarted plans for our July book club meeting. Power went out and trees were down so we had to cancel.
It’s funny in a way, I just finished “Isaac’s Storm,” by Erik Larson. The book is non-fiction about the deadliest hurricane in history, which occurred in Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900. Our little puffer paled in comparison and we are grateful it did after experiencing Hurricane Sandy.
It is so hard to imagine nature’s fury unless you’ve been through it. “Isaac’s Storm,” is an amazing read and great for conversation at book clubs. You’ll discuss just how far we’ve come in predicting storms and in the bureaucratic red tape that cost a lot of people their lives. Excellent read. I haven’t read an Erik Larson book I didn’t love.
Adversity and Life Transformations were May’s book club topics
We had book club at my house featuring some scrumptious cupcakes, good wine and other tasty edibles. As always we never seem to make it out of my kitchen.
Over sandwiches and salad we talked about this month’s book “Ten Years Later – Six People Who Faced Adversity and Transformed Their Lives,” by Hoda Kotb with Jane Lorenzini. All six people conquered huge physical and emotional challenges and some overcame tragedy. See my review to the right under Kotb.
Nothing inspires like a courageous person going through hell and raising above it. That’s what these six brave people did. No matter what you are going through in your life, there is always someone worse off. These six people found that special combination of hope and perseverance and transformed their lives.
Definitely worth the read.
A BYOB, a Mystery, and Friends – What could be better?
We tried a BYOB in Randolph for a nice change for our monthly book club meeting. It was a small group, but a lovely time.
The book was “Where They Found Her,” by Kimberly McCreight. A mystery touted in the “Gone Girl” vein. I found it to be subtler and less jarring than its predecessor. Everyone who read the book really liked it. See my review on the right under Reviews.
A few of us from book club got interested in the author when we attended the Morristown Festival of Books last October. She gave a talk and had a Q&A afterwards. She told the audience it took her 20 years and five books before she got published. It may have taken her a long time to get published, but she has certainly made up for it with two national bestsellers and a YA trilogy, “The Outliers,” with the first book coming out in May. “Reconstructing Amelia,” her first novel was nominated for the Edgar Award. All of her books have been optioned by Hollywood to be made into movies.
Her publication trials give me hope for my novel. It should give everyone hope – Just keep writing!
March 2016 Book Club
We read “All the Light We Cannot See,” by Anthony Doerr for our February’s book club. It was the Pulitzer Prize winner in fiction for 2015.
Not everyone in our book club likes to read novels set in war time, they are inherently sad and violent, but this book isn’t too graphic.
Survivors are not often inclined to talk about their experiences, some only give a condensed version when asked. I have heard a few brief stories of what the war was like. My in-laws walked from the Ukraine into Germany and were placed in a camp during World War II. They were more afraid of the Russians than the Germans. On the arduous walk my mother-in-law, a young girl at the time, got sick with tuberculosis. A German woman took her in and nursed her back to health. Imagine what that must have been like. Refugees struggling for food and water, walking endlessly amidst bombs and soldiers not knowing who was friendly or foe.
Doerr’s blind protagonist, Marie-Laure, had to walk with her father from Paris to Saint-Malo. They slept in fields or bombed-out buildings and ate scraps of food not knowing what they would find when they reached their destination. You felt their fear and apprehension.
How do you handle the chaos of war? What would you do to survive? Where’s your line between good and evil? The book will provide plenty of discussions for book clubs.
Our book club liked the book and recommends it. See my complete review under Reviews on our site.
An Appetite for Violets
February’s book club – “An Appetite for Violets,” by Martine Bailey
Still talking about our crazy lives at the end of another wonderful book club.
I couldn’t help but look down at my food and give thanks that I didn’t have to eat any of the recipes in the beginning of each chapter in this month’s book club book “An Appetite for Violets.” I don’t think they had any Cosmos back then either.
The book, however, was very good.
January 2016 Book Club Meeting
January always seems to start off with a bang. Our lovely ladies regroup after the holidays and begin the year with gusto.
Fran picked “The Happiness Project,” by Gretchen Rubin to begin the year. We are going to do one chapter a month to restore our happiness levels and go after our goals. January’s section is “Boost Energy.” Rubin gives some good clear ways to help achieve that.
We are of an age where we appreciate advice and learn from it. We filter out anything that hasn’t worked in the past and are grateful for new insights.
In Chapter 1 Rubin suggests going to sleep earlier, exercising better, tossing out stuff, organizing stuff, tackling a nagging task and acting more energetic. All these steps will boost your vitality. And we know that she’s right, it’s just making yourself do it. She talks about her own struggles and helps target ways of overcoming your doubts and inspiring you.
Next month we will read and discuss Chapter 2 along with the book “Appetite for Violets,” by Martine Bailey.
#thebestpairing
Every year I’m amazed at how our lives twist and turn. How events hit out of the blue and change us forever. By now we’ve all experienced the in the blink of an eye crisis, surprise illnesses and other life-altering experiences that test us fully. We, in time, manage to pick up ourselves, our family, our friends and continue on. Each event takes something and adds something leaving behind a revamped version of ourselves.
Reading and friends have always helped me bridge the gap of my pain after an event and help restore me to functioning. Stories show us how other people overcome and change. They can guide us on a course of action, and show us we are not alone. Friends soothe us. True friends bestow their love and listen without judgment. Sometimes all you need is someone standing by your side.
That’s the real value of reading and friendship. If you put them together you have a book club. The very best of both worlds and I’m so incredibly happy to have such an amazing group of women I call friends.
Here’s to another year of twists and turns and knowing that we are all their together.
Holiday Cheer – December 2015
Between Friends Book Club enjoyed another holiday party at Son Cubano in West New York on Friday. What a view! Our lovely clubette, Fran, graciously hosted the pre-party with a festive signature drink. Quite tasty and strong. Then we boarded into a shuttle and were whisked away toasting the evening with champagne.
Always the best part of the night are the people you are with. A few of our clubettes couldn’t make it, but we soldiered on. Book club is always so much more than just reading. Over time you come to understand and appreciate everyone for the unique person they are.
I pray we have hundreds more amazing moments and that we all grow old together, reading and laughing.
