Last night six of us got together at my house to discuss Pope Joan. We all enjoyed it, but felt that it diverged a bit too much with the romance piece, and that some of the situations would have been easier to swallow if there weren't so many convenient deaths. In general though, we appreciated learnng about the life of women in the Middle Ages, and felt it was a good read.
In between munching on Karen's excellet tazaki dip from Taste Spotting , drinking mimosas and enjoying a lentil stew with great bread from Leann, and salad from Nancy, we actually came up with an interesting list of books to read.
Lisa and Darla recommended The Help
Nancy recommended A Reliable Wife
Karen recommended Leaving the Saints
For dessert we had Chocolate Chip cookies made by Dan LaRoche, and two cakes made by Lisa. The Maple Pear Upside Down Cake was a big hit, and the Upside Down Apple Gingerbread was also enjoyed.
Lisa told everyone about the mystery series Wallender, based on the Henning Mankell mysteries, and Darla and Lisa urged everyone to read the Louise Penny mysteries and the Scotland St. series by Alexander McCall Smith.
We decided to read Reliable Wife for February’s meeting and The Help for March.
Our next meeting will be at Karen’s on Tuesday the 16th at 6:30.
--Lisa
P. S. Does anyone want to order Reliable Wife via the Norwich Bookstore for the book group discount? If so, please chime in ASAP.
