July 17 - The Martian

Seven of us gathered around the fire pit at Lisa's to discuss The Martian. Lisa had some theme food for us (potato salad, which was "a little chipoltle" and incredible), a yummy kale (from Charlie's garden) and rice casserole, and strawberry cake (100% from scratch). The rest of us filled in with appetizers, except for the Karens. Karen S. brought us a cooling watermelon gazpacho and Karen M. supplied us with Mars Bar cookies in abstentia (we missed you!).

After our usual general chat, we had a long discussion about the book. I believe everyone who read it liked it. I admit, I put it down, but it sounds like I gave up just before it got more interesting as more characters and viewpoints were added. Also interesting: needing to know how the main character fared drove some of us who never read the end first to do just that. The book itself is a great rags-to-riches story; not only is it a first novel, it was self-published and did so well a mainstream publisher picked up. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley Scott, I see a Book Soup movie outing in our future!

NEXT MEETING
Where: Becky's pool
When: Mid-to-late August
What: The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl

May 11 - Book shower and show-and-tell

We had a fun evening on my screened porch wishing Shirley well on her upcoming nuptials and talking about what we had been reading lately. For those of you who didn't make it, check out this book on Amazon: Fifty Shades of Chicken.

Here is the list of reading material I jotted down: 

• The life changing magic of cleaning up
• Being mortal
• The Martian
• The Truth According to us (by the author of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, coming in June)
• Euphoria
• The boys in the boat
• All the light we cannot see
• H is for Hawk
• Article about Jean McConville in The New Yorker
• Adrian McKinty books
• The chessman by Peter May
• Masie Dobbs
• The Dead Wake
• Circling the Sun by Paula McLaine (coming in July)
• The book of Unknown Americans
• Almost Famous Women

NEXT MEETING: TBA!

February Meeting

Thank you, Michelle, for hosting us on a such a chilly night! It was lovely to warm up with delicious gumbo and cocktails from The Big Easy, finishing it off with Lisa's king cake cupcakes. It was also fun sharing the first episode of the HBO series Treme and comparing it to the book Nine Lives.

NEXT MEETING
What: Sweetland by Michael Crummey
Where: Salt Hill in Hanover (in honor of St. Patrick's day)
When: A date in March TBD

December 15 - holiday reading

Nine of us gathered at Nancy's for our annual Christmas meeting and Yankee Swap. We had loads of wonderful appetizers, the standout being Michelle's shrimp cocktail, served with an actual cocktail-- and desserts--Lisa's espresso cake took the cake. The Yankee Swap was our usual mostly-tame affair, with lovely gifts, Heather's bug shirt being the standout here; thanks for making it non-lethal this year, Heather! ;-)

Many holiday reads were discussed. Here's the rundown I captured:

The Red Suit Diaries by Ed Butchard
The 13th Gift by Joanne Huit Smith
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Dogs of Christmas by W. Bruce Cameron
An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor
Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop edited by Otto Penzler
A Christmas Story by Jean Shepherd (book movie is based on)

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham (book movie Christmas with the Kranks is based on)

All I Learned About Christmas Came From a Little Golden Book by Diane Muldrow

Some non-holiday reading was recommended as well:

True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
Sous Chef by Michael Gibney
The Calle Sisters (where the Brothers Grimm got their stories) - I could not verify this title, please let us know more, whoever suggested this.

By request, here are Heather's recommendations for movies:

The Nativity

Danger in the Manger

NEXT MEETING

We need to figure out where and when, but we have a book! As folks were heading out the door, we realized we hadn't spent a second discussing our next meeting. Lisa mentioned hearing NPR book critic Maureen Corrigan's top twelve of 2014. Someone else said, "Let's just pick on of those," and someone else said "Number seven." OK! So I present to you or first read for 2015:

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

November 17 @ the Norwich Inn

Six of us braved the weather for dinner at the Norwich Inn. (Apologies to anyone discouraged from coming by my last-minute panic over the potential for freezing rain.) I think we all agreed the food was delicious, and the size of the group made it easy for everyone to participate in the conversation.

As it was a book show-and-tell, I will leave to you all to chime in on books to post here. However, I want to make a plug for All The Light We Cannot See, which I read and Lisa is listening to right now. A National Book Award finalist, it is amazing

Also, we talked about Irish mystery writers, and I could not remember the name of the one I recently discovered and loved. So here he is: Adrian McKinty. I read In the Morning I'll Be Gone and loved it. If you'd like to read my review, here is the link: http://scrinanbbles.blogspot.com/2014/04/book-review-in-morning-ill-be-gone-by.html

We were supposed to decide what to read for December, but we punted and said read a Christmas story. Since most of us take in Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," I'd like to propose we read the original, and if you can't stand that idea, read another classic tale and tell us about it.

Oh, and our fabulous Yankee Swap! Here's the deal: bring something consumable or book-related, used or new, but not more than $10 if new. Please, no bow-and-arrow sets.

NEXT MEETING

When: Monday, December 15, 6 pm
Where: Nancy's
What: "A Christmas Carol' or other classic holiday tale
What else: Yankee Swap, consumable or book-related ($10 or less)

October 24 - Warm Bodies

Nine lovelies gathered at Leann's for a spooky and delicious nosh and discussion of the book Warm Bodies. We also viewed the movie, during which could oft be heard, "It's better than the book!" How often do you hear that? A reflection of the feelings of many about the book.

Next Meeting
Where: ?
When: ?
What: ?

September 22 - The Bees

Susan hosted a large group for our honey-themed discussion of The Bees by Laline Paull. Delicious foodstuffs, and even cosmetics (thanks Michelle!) were available to all. Leann brought everyone actual honey  as well as Bit-o-Honey candies. Lisa made a wonderful honey cake, about which she says: "Here is the recipe! http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Honey-Cake-367189 (most likely even better if you use the orange zest). As for the glaze, mine was just powdered sugar, whipping cream, lemon zest and lemon juice."

It was an amazing night. Everyone finished the book! And everyone seemed to like it, too.

Next Meeting
Where: Leann's
When: Friday, October 24, 6 pm
What: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Viewing of the movie version of this ZomRomCom is also planned. Costumes welcome!

August 24 - Pool Party at Becky's

Thank you to Darla for serving as scribe! Here is her report:

The pool party was so fun! "The Swimmer" was the perfect short story to discuss at a pool and nice and short for the busy summer. One remark, I believe by Karen, was that it read like a Twilight Zone episode. Several of us want to go back and read it again based on the discussion and because the end makes you want to reread to catch the clues.
The food was fabulous as usual. Finger foods and "water" poolside was perfect. Everyone brought just the right stuff and all bases were covered!

The book recommendations were interesting and varied just like our members, ha!
Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani (Karen)
The Other Typist by Susanne Rindell (Rebecca)
Cottage For Sale by Kate Whouley (Darla)
Where'd You Go, Bernadette? By Maria Semple (Michelle)
The Bees by Laline Paull (Susan)
A Tale For The Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (Shirley)
The Pearl That Broke It's Shell by Nadia Hashimi (Heather)
The State Of Wonder by Ann Patchett ( Lisa in absentia)

Susan will host in September, date to be decided. It was agreed that the host picks the book!

By request: Darla's Grandma Hilda's Orange Drop Cookies with Orange Glaze

Cream:
1/2 c. shortening
1/8 c butter
3/4 c brown sugar

Add:
1 well beaten egg
1/8 c fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 Tbsp grated orange peel
1/2 tsp vanilla

Add Alternately:
1 & 3/4 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 c sour milk (add 3/4 capful vinegar to milk before starting & let sit till needed)

Drop by little spoonful on greased cookie sheet. (Cookie dough is fluffy and spreads) 12 per sheet. Makes 4 dozen. 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Let cool and spoon glaze over cookies.

Orange Glaze:
1 & 1/2 c confectioners sugar
1/4 c freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tsp orange zest

Everyone else should feel free to send their recipes, it was all delicious! 

July 2 - 'The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry'

Susan hosted a small group for lots of news sharing and munching and, oh yeah, talking about the book! Susan provided us with multiples: two yummy sangrias, two delicious quiches, and a dozen or more wonderful chocolate chip cookies. We also had a lovely arugula salad from Karen, mustard potato salad from me, cheeses & with most interesting and tasty crackers from Leann and Karen, a light and lovely strawberry custard pie from Becky.

It seemed everyone enjoyed the book, although we had our qualms. Susan wished there had been more to the characters, for instance. We all loved the policeman, though. We really did discuss it for quite a while, but alas and alack, I was not taking notes.

Next Meeting
...is book group at the pool! Becky suggested a Sunday in August and that's as far as we got. We also did not pick a book. I've been looking at the best books of the summer list, and I am most intrigued by Rainbow Rowell's Landline. Anybody else have a title they'd like to suggest? We could then do a Doodle poll.

May 9 - 'This is Where I Leave You'

Notes courtesy of Lisa:

A bunch of us gathered at Karen’s last Friday to discuss This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper.  We got into the spirit of the book by preparing foods that were appropriate for sitting Shiva.  Susan and Heather decided to kick it up a notch and “dress” for the occasion.  Between the fishnet stockings, plunging necklines and all of the memorable scenes from the book, we had a really good time.  Most of us felt that the book read like a screenplay and are now planning to see the movie when it comes out in September.

Between the yummy sandwiches, smoked trout and pickled herring, matzo crackers and hummus and three desserts, we ate well.  Through all of the good times, we did settle on what two books to read next, but we did not figure out where to meet or when.

I propose we meet somewhere for dinner, perhaps an outdoor café so we can be ourselves.  If we can do a doodle poll, we can figure out a night and place  that works out for all of us in June.  If we want outdoors, we have a few choices. Molly’s, Salt Hill, 3 Tomatoes, LuiLui’s, Jewel of India or Market Table.

We are planning to read The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zavin for our next meeting and The Gold Train: The Destruction of the Jews and the Looting of Hungary by Ronald W. Zweig, suggested by Susan (right, Susan?), for the following meeting.

Notes from Karen:

Food (might have forgotten something):

Darla - pita chips & hummus

Leann - yummy matzo and dips

Heather - pickled herring and other fish spread

Pam - delicious caprese salad

Susan - chocolate cake with candles

Lisa - Hamantaschen (blueberry and strawberry)

Nancy - pound cake

Marybeth - wine 

Karen - sandwiches: cucumber; beet, goat cheese, & arugula; ham & cheese; cream cheese & olive spread

Here are some of the books we talked about:

The Long Walk

by Slavomir Rawicz

These is my Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901
by Nancy Turner

The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History

by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witte

March 27 - "Familiar"

By popular demand, blog posts return! I believe we decided the hostess will summarize the meetings. Thanks to Lisa for this excellent installment!

Nine of us gathered at my house last night to discuss Familiar by J. Robert Lennon.  Many of us had trouble with the characters and especially Elisa’s behavior.  Leann did not finish the book, others had not picked it up yet. We all felt the ending was lacking for various reasons, but it sparked an interesting discussion about grief and what it does to someone, especially between losses of children, and also how hard it is to raise children who have mental health issues.  Here is the Goodread’s link for those who want to read other’s thoughts about the book.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13538054-familiar

We then had a 2^nd discussion about The Goldfinch because some of us had missed last book group.  Karen remarked about how she remembered Boris the most because she listened to the book.  We talked a lot about listening to a book versus reading it, and Lisa  who is currently listening to A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini mentioned she would probably not have been able to read it, but because the story is being told is hooked.  We also talked about classics and what the current definition of someone well-read really is.  Does it just mean classics, or as many mentioned, should it include works that are important to different countries.  Susan mentioned one friend who is “reading around the world” and Lisa mentioned Nadine Gordimer’s book The Pickup.  I know there was another conversation about Harry Potter too, but I can’t remember the details.

Many thanks  for an amazing assortment of good food, 3 salads! (all good) terrific veggies and hummus and a really good hot dip with sauerkraut from Heather.  Mexican Mac and Cheese and Mint brownies from Karen rounded it out.  Check out the photo!

We welcomed a new member, Pam Fein and below is the book she suggested we read for next time. 

Jonathan Tropper’s This is Where I Leave You

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/books/13maslin.html?_r=1&

Nancy suggested Frog Music by Emma Donaghue

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18295858-frog-music

I think there was a 3^rd suggestion but I can't remember what it was.  Nancy has decided not to be our official blogger anymore, but I’m hoping she will post our blogs.  Fuzzy on whether the hostess blogs, or appoints someone so I chose this for now. 

Karen will host next time, and will send a doodle poll for the book choice and the time to meet.  Lisa

Gone Fishin'

After 10 years of faithfully reporting what we read and ate, I'm hanging up the blog. We have a lively mailing list where the real action happens, so do not fear for Book Soup and its participants. I will also continue to keep The Book Soup Canonical List of Books.

Thanks for stopping by, and keep reading!

--Nancy

September 26 - 'Beautiful Ruins'

We met at Darla's lovely new apartment for our discussion of Jess Waters' Beautiful Ruins. We welcomed new member Shirley and welcomed back Mary Beth, who was visiting from Burlington. Yay! It was wonderful meeting folks and catching up over soup and beer margaritas. Although we all had qualms with one or another part of the book, the review was mostly positive.

NEXT MEETINGS
Ocotober
Where: Leann's
What: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

November
Where: Heather's
What: Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

July 27 - Book Show-and-Tell at the Pool

Five of us gathered at Becky's pool to sip "water" and discuss books and other things. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and the pool was refreshing. After we'd hung around poolside for a while, we retreated to the picnic bench for snacks. There was fruit and popcorn and chips and Leann's fabulous salsa and Karen's killer limoncello-infused cake.

The only decision we made was to get together to see the movie The Heat, which five of us (not quite the same group) did August 1st. We had a bite at Salt Hill and then went to the Nugget. The movie was hilarious.

At the pool, we decided to nominate Darla to host the next group and pick the book, and she has accepted the challenge.Thanks, Darla!

Next Meeting
Where: Darla's
When: When Darla would like to (perhaps a Friday so Mary Beth can visit from Burlington?)
What: Darla's choice

June 25 - Jill McCorkle's Life After Life

Seven of us gathered at Nancy B.'s to discuss Life After Life by Jill McCorkle and to farewell Mary Beth from the group. Mary Beth has a new and fabulous job in Burlington, and we will miss her greatly. Of course, Burlington isn't far away, and there was much talk of taking Book Soup on the road. As a parting gift, Karen made one of her beautiful bags with book fabric, and we put books for Mary Beth to read in it. (She seemed extremely excited to get World War Z....)

Nancy chose a Mexican theme for the feast. She started us off with mojitos. (Wikipedia defines these as "a traditional Cuban highball." Fancy! And extremely good.) For the main course, we had sumptuous burritos with chicken, spicy black beans, avocado, and this amazing sauce. Lisa made a yummy black bean salad we  had on the side, and we had tortilla chips and salsa courtesy of Leann. Karen provided homemade strawberry shortcake for dessert.

I think Lisa was the only one to finish the book in time, but many of us were far enough through to discuss plot and characters and compare it to Kate Atkinson. Atkinson's book was heavier somehow, and a more difficult concept to get a grasp of. McCorkle's felt lighter, although it covered many weighty and unhappy subjects. And the structure was also a challenge to follow at first. But we all found characters to love and really liked the book once we got into it.

Next Meeting
Where: Becky's pool
When: When Becky is ready
What: Book show and tell

May 14 - Kate Atkinson's Life After Life

We were small group of 5 who gathered at Lisa's to discuss Kate Atkinson's Life After Life. Lisa mad a lovely strata with leftovers from a weekend BBQ, and who are we to argue with an entree that's easier for the hostess than an appetizer? Karen made cute little olive and cream cheese sandwiches, and we also had sushi (from Darla), almonds, stuffed olives, and pita chips. Even better, we had three desserts: Lisa's angel-food cake with a creamy strawberry icing, peanut butter chocolate chip brownies (from me), and fabulous multicolored layer cookies (from Leann).

Overall consensus on the book was it was good but violent and it lagged in the middle. Lisa had the most interesting theories about the plot (could Izzie's son have become Hitler?). Izzie and Hugh were favorite characters, and some of the scenes from Ursula's childhood, where she's trying to figure out how to change the course of things, were favorites as well. I think we all agreed that it was quite interesting and we didn't completely know what it all meant.

Naturally, we were reading and recommending many other books. Here are the ones Karen wrote down for us:

Canada, by Richard Ford
The Sherlockian, by Graham Moore
Overcome, by Carmen Tarleton
Fairy Tales From the Brothers Grimm, by Philip Pullman
The Voyage, by Philip Caputo
The 19^th Wife, by David Ebershoff

Other books by Kate Atkinson: Case Histories; One Good Turn; When Will There be Good News?; Started Early, Took My Dog.

NEXT MEETING

We looked through a copy of the newsletter Indie Next and decided to read the other book entitled Life After Life, which came out at the same time as Kate Atkinson's. And that's as far as we got. Expect another Doodle poll in your in-box soon.

What: Jill McCorkle's Life After Life 

When: TBD

Where: TBD

April 9 - Dorothy Parker

Seven of us gathered at Leann's for our finger-food-only meeting and discussion of Dorothy Parker's short stories and poems. We had the most delicious stuff to eat: appetizers made with dates, apricots, asparagus; cool fresh veggies and warm chili; and tarts for dessert. We all found the arrangement quite filling enough and worth doing again.

Before we discussed the author of the night, we talked about the passing of Mary Beth's mother and Susan's mother-in-law. I hope they felt the support of friends; I was glad I was there to hear about these two wonderful women.

We did actually discuss Dorothy Parker some; her wit was much appreciated, although not so much her dark side. Heather printed out some of her short poems and gave us each one to read. It really brought out the humor. Thanks Heather!

Karen noted some of the other books we talked about:
The Paris Wife
A Dog’s Purpose
The Gilly Salt Sisters (I have a copy of this if anyone would like to borrow it)

NEXT MEETING

Where: Lisa's (thank you for offering even though you couldn't join us, Lisa!)
What: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
When: TBD

February 27 - The Round House

Seven of us gathered at the Norwich Inn for a wine tasting book group meeting. We eventually all got in the same room and talked about the book. A difficult topic was given an approachable treatment. We all loved the boys and felt Louise Erdrich had captured them perfectly. Six of us eventually went upstairs to have dinner and use our coupons that came with the wine tasting. My dinner was quite good, and I think everyone else enjoyed theirs as well.

Next Meeting
Where: Susan's
What: a Dorothy Parker short story, essay, or poem of your choosing
When: TBD

We have some travel conflicts at the end of March, anyone for making it the first week of April? 

And Susan,  you OK with hosting still?

January 23 - The Rules of Civility

Nine of gathered at Karen's for an elegant evening to discuss The Rules of Civility. Karen made crackers (!) and served two delicious soups: squash and corn chowder and her experimental chick pea soup served with broccoli and fresh parsley. (The experiment was a complete success.) The meal was rounded out with Leann's lovely rolls and green salads from Heather and your faithful scribe.

Before dinner, we snacked on Mary Beth's beautiful appetizer plate featuring cheese, kiwi, and mango; and Susan provided healthy watercress sandwiches (whole wheat bread with the crusts on) and made a pizza with garlic jam and Gorgonzola cheese on the spot. For dessert we feasted on Becky's yummy shoe-fly pie and Lisa's terrific Madeleines. I think we did it up worthy of the wealthy of the 1930's, don't you ladies?

Everyone liked the book, and we had an interesting discussion about class and the place of women in the 1930's. College was not such a necessity then as it is these days, and working class people who were smart and well-read could more easily mix with the wealthy in a place like New York. Every character reinvented himself or herself to some extent. That Eve sure had Moxie!

Upcoming Meetings
I suggested we try just serving finger foods at the next in-home meeting, because we have such a nice time chatting over hors d'oeuvres. We seemed to have a quorum in agreement, so that's the plan.

We also have plans or parts of plans for the next three meetings. To wit:

February
Where: The Norwich Inn for a wine tasting benefit for the Norwich Public Library
When: Wednesday, February 27, time to follow
What: The Round House by Louise Erdrich
What else: tickets for the wine tasting are $15 each

March
Where: Susan's
What: a Dorothy Parker short story, essay, or poem of your choosing
When: TBD

April
Where: Leann's
What: TBD
When: TBD

December 7 - Wild

Nine of us gathered at Nancy's for our annual holiday meeting with Yankee Swap. Wonderful appetizers dominated the fare, and adventuresome alcohol drinks were also on offer (Karen's glögg and Susan's killer egg nogg). Dinner was soup (potato leek for most, although there was also borscht) and "Christmas salad" (greens and fruit) from Karen. And for dessert: Lisa's chocolate-chocolate-chip cupcakes. Mmmmmm!

The Yankee Swap was slightly more free-for-all than usual (not to mention the notorious fart machine), and many laughs were had.

Most everyone enjoyed Wild by Cheryl Strayed, although we did debate the author's dubious choices (including heroine use and heading out for a months-long hike without preparing physically for it or even breaking in her hiking boots). The worst part of the book for just about everyone was when she was nearly assaulted by a man on the trail.

Naturally we talked about a million other books as well. Heather particularly recommends Kept in the Dark by Peggy Hancock.

Next Meeting
Where: Karen's
When: Don't know. Some of us liked Friday and others of us didn't. How about Thursday January 17th or Thursday January 24th?
What: Again, don't know. Lisa and Darla suggested Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. Does that sound like a plan?