Books, Babes, Beer, and Bagels

For our holiday get together, my First Tuesday Book Group shared finger foods and a book exchange. We also read and discussed a very moving Holocaust novel, Those Who Save Us, by Jenna Blum.



My 4B book group is meeting at Carla's in January to discuss this book.














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Our First Tuesday Book Group will soon celebrate
our NINTH anniversary (and there were those who
said it wouldn't last!). We'll be discussing a novel
that I've long had on my stacks:

Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese

I'm all ready for book group tomorrow night, having finished my reading of this fantastic first novel by author, Abraham Verghese. It continues to amaze me that one who is talented in a particular field (in the author's case, medicine) can broaden the scope of his/her gifts to include breathtaking writing.
So it is with Cutting for Stone, a novel set in Ethiopia and initiating the reader with the birth of twin boys to a nun. The rest of this brilliant book is the back story for just how this came about.

Annette Gordon-Reed won the National Book Award for this engaging work about the 30 year relationship...and family...that Thomas Jefferson had with Sally Hemings, enslaved on his plantation.

Dewey: the small town library cat who touched the world

I'm totally enchanted with this book...if you weren't an animal lover before reading this book, you're sure to question why you haven't welcomed a personality as charming as 'Dewey' into your life....

Book Group Christmas Party

Last Tuesday was such a relaxing and fun evening spent with book friends as we discussed our December book selection, The God of Animals, by Aryn Kyle.... indulged in holiday goodies...and exchanged books with one another.


Here's the book that I drew in our exchange:

Summer mornings on the front porch

What my book group's reading:

We'll gather in August to discuss "Justine", the first of Lawrence Durell's 'Alexandria Quartet' series.

Our July discussion centered around Iris Murdoch's, 'The Bell'.

May found us reading and discussing, "Little Big Minds", by Marietta McCarty.

Our April book group selection for First Tuesday was a very poignant memoir by Abigail Thomas, Three Dog Life.

Desert Queen, by Janet Wallach, was our March book. I'm not sure we had this in mind when we chose it last fall, but it will tie in nicely with Women's History Month!
For some Middle Eastern flavor, I brought along dates, pita bread, olives, hummus, and tabouli for us to sample as we discussed the book and I believe that this just might have been one of our best book group get togethers, yet....

Sharing books with friends....

One of my favorite places to stop in and check out used books is our local Goodwill. I picked up a couple of contemporary classics for my 'third daughter' (Molly's best friend), Katlyn. I think that I piqued her interest with Fahrenheit 451 and Flowers for Algernon ;-)

Molly, on the other hand, has been reading The Rest of Her Life, by Laura Moriarty. I'd picked it up when I went to the author's reading (as well as having a great chat with Laura!) at the Kansas Book Festival this year.

Good friends, Mary Jo and Ervin Grant, invited us over to their home for dinner last weekend and Ervin sent me home with this book. If you can't quite read the subtitle, it says it all about the premis of the book - 'America's century of regime change from Hawaii to Iraq'.

Oprah's new book selection

I was intrigued by Oprah's invitation to join her first-time, online book discussion...live with the author, Eckhart Tolle.

What's Capturing My Attention, of Late.....

Browsing through the stacks of books at Dillon's (I am totally devoted to a grocer who prioritizes books and designates a special spot in the store for showcasing current books!), I came across a couple of books by former members of the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints sect in Texas and Arizona. One thing led to another and I was on an independent study of Mormonism, polygamy, and the FLDS. As a book group facilitator, I receive advanced copies each month from various publishing houses. This past spring, The Nineteenth Wife, by David Ebershoff, came in the mail and I've been enthralled with this novel, based on historical facts around early day Mormonism and Brigham Young. In addition, I picked up Escape, by Carolyn Jessop and Stolen Innocence, by Elissa Wall (non-fiction about their experiences as children growing up and in becoming wives in the FLDS sect), Under the Banner of Heaven, by Jon Krakauer, and Red Water, by Janet Freeman. You can read more about them by clicking on the titles above.

In Cold Blood

I just spent a very enjoyable lunch hour discussing this contemporary classic novel with a group up in our campus library. Truman Capote's, In Cold Blood, was chosen by the state of Kansas to be this year's Kansas Reads selection.
I have to admit.....this time, last year, I was less than thrilled to find out that this was their choice. Over thirty years ago, I'd read this as a high school student and vividly remember how deeply disturbed I was by the horror of this family's fate...how sickened I was to realize that psychotic minds plan and carry out such evil.
I wasn't going to participate this year. I couldn't imagine - out of the limited time that I have to choose which book off my towering stacks of books I'm going to read next - re-reading this novel that had made such an impact on me so many years ago.

Nonetheless, as time got closer to the book discussion afternoon...and my friend, Martha, (who was leading the discussion) asked/assumed, "You are coming to the book discussion, aren't you?"...I located my own copy of the original paperback and joined the group.

I'm so glad that I did. Of course, I knew that anything Martha facilitated would be well-worth my time. And, I love sitting in the cozy 'living room' atmosphere of the L.W.Nixon library, with the large, plate-glass window overlooking the campus. So, I settled in for a very nice chat and, certainly, I was not disappointed. Six of us thoroughly enjoyed every tidbit of background and insight that Martha shared about Truman Capote and his experiences writing the book. Each one of us contributed our own reflections...our own connections with the lives of the novel's characters. Once again, I was reminded about how special it is to be literate...to be able to share with others the joy of reading powerful (not necessarily uplifting) literature.

Astrid and Veronika

This novel, my book group's February reading selection, was recommended by a member, Suzanne. She has the most remarkable talent for discovering wonderful, new reads and authors.

Astrid & Veronika is certainly all that. I've read straight through the morning and into the early afternoon - a rarity for me, as I get so sleepy when I read. And...despite being a voracious, passionate reader....I am a slllooowwww reader and finishing a novel in a day or two is a atypical.

Perhaps I'm thinking of my beloved neighbor and friend, Mildred, as I read about the loving, intergenerational friendship of the two main characters. All I know is that I am completely caught up in the story...the tune of talented and upcoming (if not self-destructive) singer, Amy Winehouse, is playing through my mind as I read the tragic stories of Veronika and Astrid.

Mary Jo Davis-Grant Author's Reading

What an honor to introduce my dear friend and mentor, Mary Jo Davis-Grant, as 30 attendees listened as she shared her journey of healing by way of her waking dreams. Her book, Dream Power, is the published version of her doctoral work on the integration of archetypes and chakras in her waking dreams.

In spite of the heavy snowfall ...and Democratic caucus...we were amazed at the number of people who turned out to hear her read from and discuss her book! In fact, Watermark shared that the attendance was as good as that from events they've hosted for national authors. Impressive! They offered Mary Jo yet another night to read and sign books, so we're 'taking it on the road again' the evening of March 25th.

Watermark Books in Wichita presents....

What a terrific way to spend a Sunday afternoon....! I can't think of a better group of people than booklovers ...and a bookloving hairdresser!

Not only did I enjoy hearing author, Kathy Patrick, share her love for books and book groups....I was the winner of a 'make-over' and a Pulpwood Queen 'big hair' do! I know....some people have no pride!

Thanks, Sarah Bagby, and staff at Watermark...the best independent bookstore around....

To add to a wonderfully enjoyable event, I purchased and gave a dear person, Dr. Jacqueline Vietti (our college president) a copy of the book, because she grew up, as did the author, in Eureka, Kansas...of all places. Imagine my astonishment when I told Kathy Patrick who I was giving the book to and to whom she should inscribe it and she exclaimed, "Oh, my! Jackie Basham's father delivered me and her mother was my French teacher! In fact, her mother is in the book!"

Needless to say, I was so anxious to give the book to Dr. Vietti. It meant alot to me to have her rush up to me at our large all-college meeting and hug me...and thank me....for sharing the book with her.

Umberto Eco

The Christmas holiday is a wonderful time to appreciate a snowy day and great books like this one, The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana.

Philip Pullman

Sssshhhhh! Don't tell her....I'm giving my daughter, Molly, the His Dark Materials trilogy and am reading a guide to Philip Pullman's books, Discovering the Golden Compass. Hopefully, Molly will share with her mom after she opens them Christmas morning.

Gordon Parks

This book is a beautiful photo history by Gordon Parks. Our "One Book, One Community" read last spring was The Learning Tree, by G. Parks. Each year, our community enjoys a week of activities (book discussions, author readings, visiting author in the schools, etc.) around a particular book. What a delightful way to meet up with kindred spirits! This year, I was lucky enough to be hostess to our featured author, Ann Parr, who wrote a young adult biography of Gordon Parks...a man she had the fortune of meeting twice, in person, when she flew to New York to interview him. The name of Ann's delightful book is No Excuses.

What is the most unusual book you ever bought?

I rather obsess about reading books...books about books....about bookshops...about authors...When I happened upon Abebooks' website, I found an afternoon's distraction in their booksellers' profiles. The piece below, by the owner of Yankee Book & Art Gallery, deeply moved me.

"...the one that I found the most interesting was a book whose title I can't remember and was not particularly significant.
It was a religious book published in 1854 in Richmond, Virginia. What made it so unusual was the hand writing in the book. The hand writing was by a Union soldier who wrote "This book was captured while the battle raged. Taken from a dead confederate soldier's body. At this battle my best friend went down. If you should find this book on or about my body please return it to my mother (an address in Pennsylvania was given) and tell her that I died gallantly on the battlefield."

One of my own experiences many years ago was at an independent bookshop in Wichita, Eighth Day Books. Browsing through the shelves while sipping a cup of coffee (is there any other way to enjoy a bookstore? Books bring to mind coffee...coffee brings to mind books), my hand landed upon a book with a completely nondescript spine...What caught my attention, I'll never know. However, the title of the book was intriguing - Working in a Small Place: the making of a neurosurgeon. As I read the back cover where it described this surgeon's work with, I realized that this was exactly the type of information that a friend needed to pass along to her mother, who was suffering from excruciating facial pain known as "Tic Douloureux". I promptly paid for the book, drove to my friend's home, and presented her with it. She, in turn, gave it to her mother....who contacted the neurosurgeon...who set up a date for surgery. Within the month, she was flying across the country to have the operation - which was a complete success. I will never forget the awe I later felt at such a profound sense of intuition. Books have that sort of effect on me...alot.

Broken for You, by Stephanie Kallos

My book group's January read....

I relish stories such as this...an 'intergenerational set of characters' who seemingly meet by 'chance'. The story of Margaret and Wanda brings to mind the way in which I met my own dear friend, Mildred... Looking for my toddler son one early summer morning, I began to panic when he was neither upstairs nor downstairs. I ran through the neighborhood, fearing the worst. As I walked past the large, kitchen window of an elderly couple we had not yet met, I saw my precious little guy (minus his diaper)....perched, naked as a jaybird, in the center of their kitchen table! They were trying to figure out where he belonged ;-)...and that was the beginning of a two-decades long friendship.