January 26 - 'My Mother Grows Wallflowers'

Seven of the regulars and two guests gathered at Lisa's for our discussion of My Mother Grows Wallflowers by C.L. Howland. One of our guests was the author; thanks for joining us, Cindy! And thanks for bringing the wonderful fresh salsa and yummy coconut cake. Lisa had a wonderful soup and her dad's coleslaw for us, there were fresh veggies and dip, Leann's salad, Michelle's great shrimp appetizer, Darla's delicious squash and pear side dish, Karen's wonderful pound cake from a King Arthur Flour recipe... Please forgive me what I've left out, but as usual, we had a feast.

We had a lovely discussion with Cindy about her book, which everyone enjoyed reading (and are looking forward tot he next installment!). Cindy sent this comment along to Lisa afterward:

I did feel supported.The insights shared about different parts of the book fascinated me, and all the questions were thought provoking. Please thank everyone for their kindness and for spreading the word about the book. As avid readers, your group can influence whether a book flourishes or sits on a shelf collecting dust, which brings me to another thought I meant to share with the group last night. It's actually a plea for all the "small" authors of the world--the majority of us who are not Jodi Picoult, J. K. Rowling, etc.. I know you personally do this all ready, but reviews are incredibly important to authors. We live in a crazy, busy world, but if you've read something you really liked, if possible, do a review of the book. Amazon, Goodreads, wherever...it doesn't have to be a long review, just a couple of sentences. Reviews count almost as much as sales, and are a way to let the author know the countless hours spent writing and rewriting are appreciated by the reader.

We had such a good time with Cindy's book that we didn't talk as much about other books as usual.  I mentioned a book coming out in a couple of weeks, a good one about time travel, that I think some of the group was interested in: All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mestai.

NEXT MEETING
Where: Michelle's
When: End of February
What: TBA