November 2016 Host:  Stephanie

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

From the Back Cover

Do you want to get to know the woman we first came to love on Comedy Central's Upright Citizens Brigade? Do you want to spend some time with the lady who made you howl with laughter on Saturday Night Live, and in movies like Baby Mama, Blades of Glory, and They Came Together? Do you find yourself daydreaming about hanging out with the actor behind the brilliant Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation? Did you wish you were in the audience at the last two Golden Globes ceremonies, so you could bask in the hilarity of Amy's one-liners?

If your answer to these questions is "Yes Please!" then you are in luck. In her first book, one of our most beloved funny folk delivers a smart, pointed, and ultimately inspirational read. Full of the comedic skill that makes us all love Amy, Yes Please is a rich and varied collection of stories, lists, poetry (Plastic Surgery Haiku, to be specific), photographs, mantras and advice. With chapters like "Treat Your Career Like a Bad Boyfriend," "Plain Girl Versus the Demon" and "The Robots Will Kill Us All" Yes Please will make you think as much as it will make you laugh. Honest, personal, real, and righteous, Yes Please is full of words to live by.

October 2016 Host:  Sarah

War Dogs by Guy Lawson

Summary

This is a true story of how two stoner teenagers from Florida were awarded millions of dollars of US government military contracts and how they learned the ins and outs of international arms dealing.  This is a well-researched piece of journalism that reads like fiction, but sadly is not.  One issue is that they were sending outdated Chinese ammo to the front line in Afghanistan.  The labels were removed from the ammo and they were shipped loose in the containers; an obvious danger to the soldiers.  Hurried outsourcing by the federal government allowed these two teenagers to make millions of dollars into their twenties, they even landed a $300 million contract in 2007.  This is an insightful read into how the government procures and distributes arms contracts.  This story has also been made into a movie. 

                                                           Menu

Salad

Lasagna (I forgot to take pics until after dinner)

Cake

September 2016 Host:  Karen

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Summary

After Louisa Clark loses her job as a waitress during a British recession, she accepts a temporary position as a caregiver to Will Traynor, a quadriplegic.  Since Will already has a nurse, it is Louisa’s job to entertain and be a companion to Will.  Louisa is chatty and quirky and Will is bitter and depressed.  Will used to ski, rock climb, and bungee jump, and continually sought out the next adrenalin rush.  Now he is bound to a wheelchair and suicidal.  Louisa’s contract will last six months after which time Will has a decision to make:  he will either find the will to live or he will go to an assisted dying organization in Switzerland.  The two eventually develop feelings for each other and Louisa desperately tries to find reasons for Will to want to live, mainly the love they have for each other.  The author’s character development is excellent, sometimes you hate or love or just laugh at their antics.  We highly recommend this novel, and don’t forget the tissues.

Menu

Cucumber Cream Cheese Crackers

Cheese and Crackers (Hazel's favorite)

Salad

Shepherd's Pie

Chocolate Cream Pastries

Tenth Anniversary of our Book Club

We all decided to read something individually this time. 

June 2016 Host:  Jaci

The Magic Strings of Frankie Pesto by Mitch Albom

Summary

This book is narrated by an omniscient talent (Music) and is the story of Frankie Pesto, a Spanish war orphan and musical prodigy.  He comes to America alone when he is ten years old with his sole possession being a six string guitar given to him by his beloved Maestro.  It takes Frankie many years to learn that the strings on his guitar are magical.  Frankie’s journey takes him through the musical landscape of the 20^th century including classical to jazz to rock and roll.  His talent affects numerous stars along the way that include Elvis Presley, Hank Williams and KISS and Frankie himself becomes a famous pop star.  This novel is infused with the message about the bands we join in life and how those connections change us all.  We highly recommend this captivating book, especially if you love music.  Mitch Albom once again delivers a poignant and beautifully written novel.   

Menu

Antipasto Cups

Cucumber Salad

Burgers

Book Club Cookie

     

April 2016 Host:  Colleen

I Am Malala:  The Girl Who Stood Up For Education and Was

Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb

Summary

     This is a tragic yet remarkable biography of Malala set in Pakistan in the Swat Valley which has turned from a peaceful valley to a Taliban occupied war zone.  Bombs drop on schools and valleys and there are bodies in the town square. The Taliban believes women should not be educated, yet Malala bravely attends a school built by her father.  The book gives us insight into her childhood and her father’s determination to build schools and educate boys and girls.  Malala describes her deep love for her childhood friends, family, and her home in the Swat Valley…”high snow topped mountains; green waving fields and fresh blue rivers.” On October 9^th, 2012, Malala is shot point blank in the head by the Taliban for attending school.  What follows is a miracle.  Malala survives and now has a platform and a voice in front of the world for promoting girls’ rights to an education.  She becomes the youngest person ever to receive a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.  Malala is a true role model for young women and we highly recommend this book.

Malala’s father kept a famous poem written by Martin Niemoller who lived in Nazi Germany in his pocket:

First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.
Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak out because I was not a Catholic.
Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me. 

Menu

Appetizers

Baked Potato Bar

Chocolate Cake

March 2016 Host:  Nancy

Dead Wake:  The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson

Summary

This is a gripping historical account written to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania, a Cunard passenger liner sunk by a German U-boat.  The sinking of the Lusitania ended the lives of over 1,000 people and helped change America’s neutral position in World War I, although it did take two more years for America to declare war on Germany.  At the helm of the enormous ship was the experienced Captain Turner.  There were 192 furnaces with 100 stokers working each shift, shoveling 1,000 tons of coal per day, which contributed to the Lusitania’s reputation of being the fastest ship at the time.  We become privy to what it was like strolling the decks and socializing in the staterooms and saloons on the Lusitania.   Larson’s buildup to the eventual sinking of the Lusitania is intense and the ship goes down in 18 minutes.  There is no dead space as Larson describes the passengers and crew on that fateful day in 1915. The story is also set in a German Submarine U-20 (Larson describes in detail the stifling odors and the ever present danger of dying at the bottom of the sea), in the British intelligence room 40, and in President Wilson’s lovelorn white house.   This book is well researched and Erik Larson does an excellent job of portraying the events around World War I.  This is a highly recommended read.   

Menu

Salad

Green Beans

Scalloped Potatoes

Ham

Butter Braid

February 2016 Host:  Jennie

Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon

Summary

This novel is set in Berlin in the winter of 1948-49.  The main character Alex, a writer, flees from the United States to Germany after defying a congressional investigation into communism and begins spying for the CIA in order to return to the United States and reunite with his son.  Ironically, being half Jewish, he had fled the Nazis in Germany 15 years earlier.   Alex becomes an instant prominent artist comrade in the Soviet Occupied Zone.  Alex soon learns that this is not the city of his youth and becomes embroiled in secrets, lies, and danger.  What was supposed to be a quick and easy job turns into a deadly and life threatening situation.  In this espionage thriller, Kanon delivers realistic characters and invokes the atmosphere of a postwar Berlin that has become a gray and bleak wasteland, and what Berliners had to do to survive their new reality.  This is an intriguing page turning thriller and we highly recommend it. 

Menu

Salad

Cheddar Biscuits

Taco Bar

Apple Caramel Cheesecake

January 2016 Host:  Stephanie

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Summary

This novel captures the social divide and how the manufacturing and trading industries were revolutionizing in England in the 1850s.  Margaret Hale, the daughter of a respected clergyman and her family, move from the south of England to the Northern industrialized town of Milton after her father leaves the church.  The descriptions of life in London, the country village of Helstone, and the manufacturing town of Milton are colorful and the reader feels at times that they are there.  The development of the love story between Margaret and Thornton (the mill-owner) around the struggle of Victorian social classes and economic classes is intriguing.  Margaret, living between two worlds - the millworkers and the owners - does not hesitate to share her views.  This novel is entertaining and thought provoking, and also a compelling love story.  This is one of the great classic novels and is highly recommended. 

Menu

A delicious Mexican buffet and dessert (which I forgot to take pictures of).

November 2015 Host:  Stephanie

(we enjoyed lunch at Three Margaritas Restaurant)

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks

Summary

Eight-year old Max Delaney has an imaginary friend (Budo) who has been around for five years, which is ancient in the world of imaginary friends.  Budo realizes this and obsesses over how long he has been with Max and is terrified of the day when Max will stop believing in him, for when this happens, Budo will cease to exist.  Max is different than other children, some say he has Asperger’s.  He does not like to be touched and when faced with too much stimuli, he retreats into himself and becomes unreachable for a period of time and is bullied due to this behavior.  When Max is abducted, Budo enlists the help of other imaginary friends who come in the form of how their human friends imagined them.  This is a fun, at times quirky, and engaging read and you will enjoy the insight the author gives into the world of a child’s imagination.