February 2018
Very emotional meeting last night. Right off, we learned that [one of our beloved members] is leaving us sooner than expected. We will miss her at our meetings! With that said- we changed back our book dates- I am hosting March book club.
Last night we discussed 'Black and Blue' by Ann Quindlen. It was a very thought provoking book about domestic violence and I felt like our discussion was empowering. Thank you [a beautiful soul] for being such a superb host! Our food was delicious, we had several 'black and blue' themed items..... deep topic, but it was nice to keep it fun at the same time.
If you didn't bring an item for donation - please keep it in mind. You can drop off your donations to ****. Their profits go to help ****, a domestic violence shelter.
Our next meeting will be Thursday, March 29, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the ****. Our book to be discussed is 'Walden' by Henry David Thoreau. I don't have a food theme yet, but if I come up with something, I will let you all know.
Happy Reading!
January 2018
A BIG Thank You to [that crazy member] for hosting our book club meeting last night. As always, we had a great discussion and scrumptious food! I hadn't read anything by Dodie Smith before, so thank you for introducing me to a new author.
Also, we were glad to have [a new member] join us last night. We hope you return!
We missed those of you who couldn't make it last night-
[a member who was ill]- get well soon!
[a member who was bereaved]- we are so sorry to hear about the loss of your sister.
[a member who was also ill]- we wish you a speedy recovery!
Our next book club meeting will be Thursday, February 22, 2018, 6:30pm at the ****. [a beautiful soul] will be our host. The book choice is 'Black and Blue' by Anne Quindlen.
Have a great weekend ladies.
Happy Reading
All of 2017
Sorry, my computer was broken. There are no notes saved for this session.
June 2016
Lovely meeting tonight! Thanks to our lovely hostess, your decorations were fabulous. The food, was delicious as always!
Next month we will watch My Fair Lady on July 13th at 8:00pm. We will eat at 6:00pm, so we will leave home base around 5pm if anyone wants to ride together.
Our next book choice will be 'All the Light We Cannot See' by Anthony Doerr. We will meet on Thursday, August 25, 2016 at 6:30pm. We plan on doing a French cafe theme.
May 2016
What an engaging meeting last Thursday! We enjoyed decorating and getting it all set up. The Chinese food was delicious. We had a thought provoking discussion on 'The Painted Veil' by Somerset Maugham. I was delighted that a new memberl could join us, I hope she enjoyed it and is able to attend future meeting
Our next book will be 'Nightwork' by Irwin Shaw. Since part of the book is set in Switzerland, our hostess thought a Swiss food theme would be interesting. We also discussed the gambling theme and thought a casino night would be fun. We could have food named with casino style names like 'Poker Chips' for potato chips, 'Ceasar Palace Salad', 'Black Jack Chicken', etc.
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
Lovely meeting last night! We discussed The Elephant Man by Sir Fredrick Treves, and how people today still must deal with being ostracized, perhaps not on the level of Mr. Merrick, but the loneliness is still there none the less.
We had a delicious meal with many British flavors to sample.
January 2016
This month we discussed Pale Horse Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter.
November 2015
This discussion was particularly insightful. I haven't been able to look at the food in my kitchen or anything else without wondering exactly what I am putting on/in my body. That being said, I must confess that I have made very little changes. As one of our members so adequately put it, "It is all so overwhelming." Where to begin! Hopefully with the changes made on this site we can all have a good beginning! The food, as always, was delicious.
October 2015
Spooky meeting last night! We reviewed 'The Turn of the Screw' which made for some interesting discussion. Some of us dressed up and our food was Halloween themed, how fun!
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
The Gold Bug by Edgar Alan Poe
Food Theme: South Carolina
We had a wonderful time thanks to our hostess and her wonderful crab boil! It was delicious and more than one person was sad that they were not a part of our fantastic group of ladies!! Our discussion was rather short, like the book, and we went over our Relay for Life duties. It was a good night all around.
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Food Theme: German
Wow. I was not a fan of German food until this meeting. The food was absolutely delicious. The discussion was very intense for me, as well. I picked up on a lot of themes and emotions that I had missed during the book and gained a lot of insight. You ladies are terrific!! I learn something from you every meeting. I am very blessed to be a part of such a smart and classy group of women!! You make each month a little brighter.
March 2014
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Food Theme: South African
I am going to be a little lazy this month and use a guest writer for my meeting notes. She wrote them so lovely on our Facebook page and email that I thought they should be here on our website, too!! I made a few changes so that anonymity would be preserved. So thank you to SJ for the following words:
We had a fabulous meeting last night. Two members were not able to make it and you were both missed! We hope everyone is able to attend next month. Our book discussion was 'Cry The Beloved Country' by Alan Paton, and I think everyone enjoyed it. The food as always was delicious. Please remember to send H your recipes so we can have them on our website.
Our next meeting will be April 24th, 7:00pm [see Club Calendar]. The book to be discussed is Sara's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. Our food them will be German food. We already have a partial menu picked out. For the reuben sandwich, * is bringing corned beef, * is bringing rye bread, * is bringing sauerkraut, * is bringing cheese, and I am bringing sauce. H is making German chocolate cake [Black Forest Cake]. * is bringing German potato salad. Jean may be bringing brats, and that leaves Ann and Trish to bring whatever they choose
Please remember to sign up for the Relay for Life. H will be sending out a link to sign up online. We are making a basket with a theme for women. We have candles, a mug, hand towels, books, lotion, candy, and a beautiful glass dish so far (I may be forgetting something here, but this is close). If you have an item to donate for the basket, please call me and I will meet you somewhere to pick it up. I would like to have the basket finished by next Friday so I can make up flyers and get raffle tickets to everyone. We decided to draw for the basket at Railroad Days which I think is June 7th (let me know if this is incorrect). This will give us more time to sell tickets. We will try to have a booth set up at Railroad Day to display our basket and possibly sell book related items. All proceeds will go toward our Relay for Life goal. Our team name is Classy for a Cure.
We are going to Tent Theater on Friday, June 27th so please reply to [You know who and if you don't check you email :) ] and let her know for sure if you are going. I think everyone said they were going last night, but we need to hear from * and *, so that [she] can purchase the tickets. * will be emailing out the ticket cost soon.
Did I miss anything? I love our book club. Not just the books, but the memories we make. I am proud to call each of you my friend. Thanks for being part of our group.
Happy Reading!
February 2014
A Room With A View by E.M. Forster
Food Theme: Italian
What a lovely meeting. I am so thankful that everyone who did was able to come out. I know that there was a lot of sickness and general February business going on this month. Everyone who was not able to make it was sorely missed. The ladies who were able to attend had a wonderful discussion about the merits of a well-fleshed-out character and the accuracy of the times; a very interesting discussion. I don't want to forget to mention the food, either. Italian. YUM! Italian food is one of my favorites and ladies you did not disappoint! We also discussed setting up a team for Relay for Life, tickets for tent theater in June, and our t-shirt order which we have been informed we are waiting for an answer on. As always,looking forward to next month. I'll have to start looking for recipes to tasty South African cuisine. On second though, maybe I should order my book first!
January 2014
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Food Theme: American
Thank you to all the ladies who were able to show up to start off our fourth session of Book Club fun! And a big welcome to our hostess's sister for attending! It was a delight meeting you!! I know that I had a great night visiting with all of you. The food was delicious--yummy sliders, homemade pickles, scrumptious tarts and apple pie, enchiladas and tacos, dip and chips, and a gooey dump cake, not to mention meatloaf! My heart wept tears of exultation at that meatloaf; I never get to eat it at home. The discussion was very insightful. A couple of our members are also looking into t-shirt designs for all of us, although I was very firmly set down that I was not allowed to contribute my ideas ;) I am sincerely looking forward to next month, although, unfortunately, it means that I have to clean my house. Ciao!!
December 2013
Christmas Party!! Nothing like celebrating Christmas with Chinese food. It was delicious, the ornaments were fantastic, and the games were fun--thank you to our two game coordinators for the riveting evening. Also thank you to another special member for the gifts--I'm still enjoying mine!!
November 2013
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Food Theme: Island
We wound up our reading with a very short book (thank you to our hostess for the page count). We had a nice discussion and delicious food. All in all it was a great way to wind up our year. We are looking forward to our Christmas party again--don't forget your ornaments ladies!!
October 2013
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Food Theme: British or Animal
What a meeting! I don't believe that I have laughed quite so hard in a long time--and that was before I even left the car! For those of you ladies who rode with me I think you know what I'm talking about ;) There were many smiles all around and, as always, the company was superb. The food was delicious and included dishes such as a Ploughman's Lunch, cottage pie, and little piggie cupcakes (I goofed up and forgot to pick up themed food ingredients so I was the odd ball who brought pumpkin cake). Not being a person who thinks much on politics (I know, shame on me) I felt a little out of it when discussing certain topics of Animal Farm, but I must say that I learned quite a bit from the other ladies in the group who knew their stuff. I appreciate all the information that I didn't quite get to read on the Russian Revolution and who the key players were. We also had quite the discussion on our favorite books and why we appreciated them from which I picked up several new titles to look into. Thank you again to our generous hostess!! On a parting note I will leave you with this riveting question that has been on a lot of minds of late: What does the fox say?
September 2013
Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
Food Theme: Soup Line
I really enjoyed this book. It made me cry and it has been a while since I've read a good tear jerker. That it was a true story made it all the more compelling. Thank you to our wonderful hostess who picked the book and who graciously provided a wonderful soup selection for our enjoyment. All the selections were delicious. To those of you who were not able to make it we were sorry not to see your faces in the group. We had a lengthy discussion which was very enlightening, as always. Thank you to all the ladies who were able to bring food items for the backpack program. They were appreciated. You can see the article on Chadwick's school website www.chadwick.k12.mo.us or at the Christian County Headliner's website www.ccheadliner.com.
August 2013
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
Food Theme: Seafood or Cuban
Update Coming Soon!
July 2013
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Food Theme:
Update Coming Soon!
June 2013
The Rainmaker by N. Richard nash
Food Theme: Restaurant Millie's in Downtown Springfield
Update Coming Soon!
May 2013
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Food Theme: Seafood or Cuban
We had an fabulous meeting. Several of our classy ladies attended; those who were not here were thought of fondly and their presence was lamented! We had quite a selection of dishes and I think I gained ten pounds after the meeting.
April 2013
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
Food Theme: Medieval
Tonight's meeting was an absolute parcel of goodies and I had a blast. Thank you ladies so much for making my life a whole lot brighter and richer and just absolutely fantastic!! We had an abundance of good discussion and delicious food and the most important thing--laughter! We were sadly missing a few of our number, but we turned out in force compared to last month with a grand total of eight braving the cold and wind to make it to our humble gathering. Our hostess was gracious and hospitable as always. There were mixed views on how enjoyable a read the book was overall, but I think the majority were able to finish the book with little difficulty. I can say that I haven't laughed over a book quite so much for a while and we can say without a doubt that Mark Twain thought very little of the Catholic church or it seems Arkansas. And now it is time for me to slumber and so I say: Fare thee well, my good ladies. I will see you anon and mayhap I will fetch the ale. What say you?
March 2013
All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
Food Theme: Southern
Well, I dropped the ball on this one, although I can partially blame the library for not getting me the right book. If you haven't guessed it--I didn't get to read the whole thing. Several of our number were missing this go round, we missed everyone who wasn't there! You missed out on some excellent character discussion and not to mention the southern food that was mouthwatering. I even was brave enough to try the chickweed tea (of course the Mississippi Mud Cake was nothing to sneeze at). There were six of us in attendance and I think the four that had read the book held up the conversation very well which made it enjoyable for the two who hadn't finished it (we know who we are). Mary had to run home to her little lambs halfway through, although we were very glad that she made it for the first half of the meeting. It was all around a good time!
February 2013
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
Food Theme: Australian, Janpanese, Malayan
What a wonderful way to start off our new book session--great food, conversation, didgeridoo music, native art and singing! We even enjoyed authentic pictures from the town of Alice Springs provided by our wonderful hostess. The book was an enjoyable read; I think everyone actually finished this one!! Most liked the book, the story plot was easy to follow, although it was widely decided that there was less emotional elements we had hoped for (was it because it was a male author?). Further research on the book and setting was interesting and informative. Overall it was a hit!
January 2013
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
Food Theme: General Appetizers
It was a lovely meeting!! I want to thank everyone who was able to come out and spend a wonderful evening of discussion and eating yummy food! We had two new members to join our ranks, hooray, and I must say that they made an excellent addition to our numbers. I hope they will return next month for another round of books and food and enjoyment! For those of us who were unable to make it, you were missed!!!!!!! It has to be said that only three of us actually made it through the book, although it was not for a lack of trying!! The first quarter of the book was rather dry and uninteresting, even I who was among the number who made it to the end can say that it was a great trial to get through it (though it was not through any fault of description on the author's part, she certainly put in plenty of that!). However, if you made it past that dry part you were well rewarded. The rest of the book picked up and had a more interesting story; the characters were relatable, if not at all times sympathetic. But in the end...well, you'll have to read that for yourself.
November/December 2012
Time for the holidays and no time for reading! Ha, Ha, Ha!! One thick book to read for next month!! Get to it!!
October 2012
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Food Theme: Indian
Our meeting of this lovely autumn month was held at the home of our most gracious hostess of whom I would like to thank for her superb hospitality. We had eight of our lovely ladies in attendance with one guest bravely sitting in on our discussion; and what a lively and thorough discussion it was! I do believe that yours' truly received more insight in the course of our literary discussion than I did throughout the whole course of the book (not to mention a strong desire to visit the dentist!), despite my many coins jingling. We shared many laughs and several delicious Indian dishes that make my tummy rumble just thinking about them! Don't forget to send me your recipes ladies!!! I do believe that our quest for enlightenment will be that much easier with the knowlege, and hopefully wisdom, we have gained! Dhaynavad, aap sab ko bahut bahut shubh-kaamnaayen!! Namaste!
September 2012
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Food Theme: Tex-Mex/Southwestern
We held our meeting last night in the home of our gracious hostess Polly Esther and ladies I think we may have had our biggest turn out yet with 12 in attendance! I could be incorrect in this assumption, of course, as I did not attend last months meeting. We had a smorgasbord of delicacies to please both the eye and the palate. Thank you ladies for all of the wonderful dishes! I appologize if I seemed inattentive, for some reason I was not in a festive mood, although I did enjoy everyones' excellent company as always!! We also enjoyed the company of A. Goodread's mother and good friend who were both wonderful additions to our party! Thank you ladies for coming! The book was discussed in much detail and I thought each of us had a lot to think upon when we left! Until next time!!! Adios!!!
August 2012
It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
Food Theme: North Eastern Unites State
coming soon!
July 2012
The Plague by Albert Camus
Food Theme: French
Thanks to all who attended our meeting last night; to those who were unable to make it, once again you were missed!! We enjoyed very good converstation and delicious food. All of our dishes were themed around the book, which was set in France. We ate plums topped in a delicious dessert cheese, a mouthwatering quiche provided by our hostess, French onion dip with a selection of vegetables, not-so-French brownies (but who can go wrong with chocolate?), and of course Black Death Cake. There was a selection of lemonade, tea, and soda to drink. The atmosphere was festive despite the more serious tone of the book and we shared in several good laughs. Everyone seemed to have a positive review of the book and those who had not quite finished it yet due to more pressing matters had their interest piqued enough to make them want to finish it. We discussed the main characters of the book, the major themes visited by the author throughout, and whether or not the story was allegorical to WWII. We were even lucky to go home with gifts of an Anti-Plague pack that contained several useful items against infection--Thank You!!! In closing,it was voted on that the homepage quote would be changed monthly, the quote to be decided upon at each monthly meeting. Also, pen-names are needed for each individual for use on the web page. Looking forward to the next meeting. Check the Club Calendar section for the date!
June 2012
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Food Theme: Angel & Devil
Last night's book club saw 5 members in attendance; all those who weren't able to make it--we missed you!! The food selection was excellent seeing such dishes upon our sideboard as Deviled Crab, Heavenly Lush, Deviled Ham on Cucumbers, Demon Dip, and a delicious Angel food cake topped in a heavenly strawberry glaze (makes my mouth water just remembering). Our hostess was gracious in providing several wonderful drinks as well. I can personally recommend her lemonade and mint tea having sampled both.
We did not lack for interesting discussion. It seemed as if we only reached the tip of the iceburg and I'm thinking that those who were able to read the book will have much to think on in the coming weeks! For all of you who wanted more information on the Theory of Cognitive Dissonence here are a couple of websites to help extend your knowledge: http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/cognitive-dissonance.html , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance . Just don't let those little devils let you use it to distract you! ;-)
Thanks again for all who attended! Check the Club Calendar for information on our next meeting!